Different social parameters should be recorded. These include marital status (married, separated, divorced, single, or with a “significant other”); place of residence (with family, alone, or in an institution); educational level; occupation; religion; travels abroad; tobacco use (past and present use and amount); alcohol (ETOH) use (past and present use and amount); and recreational drug use (past and present use, type, and amount). When obtaining the social history, the clinician should take into account the patient’s chief complaint and PMH in
order to gather specific information pertinent to the patient’s dental management. For example, the social history can be quite limited for a healthy patient who needs only a single restorative procedure; however, an extensive social history may be necessary for a patient with a positive history of hepatitis C who continues to use intravenous drugs.