Which patient population requires hospital-based dental care rather than outpatient dental treatment?

Hospital-based dental care is indicated for: patients with complex medical conditions that require medical monitoring (e.g., severe cardiac disease, severe bleeding disorders, poorly controlled diabetes), patients who cannot cooperate for outpatient treatment (e.g., severe intellectual disabilities, extreme dental phobia unresponsive to sedation, severe movement disorders), and patients requiring extensive dental treatment under general anesthesia. Mild hypertension does not require hospital care. Dental anxiety can typically be managed with oral anxiolytics or nitrous oxide in an outpatient setting. Most pediatric patients can be managed in a pediatric dental office.