[The importance of adequate medical history taking in dentistry].

A patient's medical history is a vital part of his or her dental history and increases the dentist's awareness of diseases and medication which might interfere with the patient's dental treatment. This article describes the essential characteristics of a solid medical history, according to the Dutch Guidelines for Dental Education published in 1997. In future the importance of patients' medical histories will increase along with the number of medically complex patients who visit the dental general practice.