Background Patients’ willingness to share their medical history is vital, yet some may withhold information due to various reasons. Aim To explore the attitude and awareness of dental patients towards the disclosure of medical history to their dentists in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Methodology A cross-sectional survey developed using Google Form was utilized for data collection. Adult Arabic or English-speaking patients who agreed to participate in the study were recruited. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: demographic information, patients’ attitude towards medical history disclosure (yes/no questions), and patients’ awareness about the importance of medical history (Likert-type scale). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 29. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test, Kruskal Wallis and Mann–Whitney U -Tests were used for data analysis. Result A total of 622 responses were received . Most participants were females (67.5%), hold bachelor's degrees (66.9%), and aged 18–24(29.4%). The majority of participants (94.2%) had prior dental treatment and (97.1%) did not experience clinical complications. Moreover, (76.4%) of the participants reported it's very important to inform the dentist about complications previously experienced in the dental clinic. However, few participants think it is very important to choose morning appointments for diabetic patients (33.9%). Also, the respondents reported that it is very important to tell the dentist about the month of pregnancy (71.2%). Conclusion The findings suggest that adult dental patients in the current sample demonstrate a positive attitude towards disclosure of medical history to dentists. However, gaps in health awareness were identified. These findings highlight the potential role of patient education and interprofessional collaboration in improving patients’ health literacy.
Sembawa et al. (Wed,) studied this question.