London: Department of Health and British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry; 2007
London: Department of Health and British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry; 2009
London: Public Health England; 2014
Ottawa: World Health Organization; 1986
Gallagher JE, Wilson NHF. The future dental workforce?. Br Dent J. 2009; 206:(4)195-199
Carter E, Parker M, Gallagher JE. The impact of fluoride application training: survey of trained dental nurses from King's College Hospital NHS Trust. Br Dent J. 2012; 212:(10) https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.417
Gallagher JE, Alajbeg I, Büchler S, Carrassi A, Hovius M, Jacobs A Public health aspects of tobacco control revisited. Int Dent J. 2010; 60:31-49
Tobacco or Oral Health: An Advocacy Guide for Oral Health Professionals.Lowestoft, UK: FDI World Dental Federation/World Dental Press; 2010
London: General Dental Council; 2013
: National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; 2004
The distribution of burden of dental caries in school children: a critique of the high caries prevention strategy for popualtion. 2006. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6831/6/3
Batchelor PA, Sheiham A. The limitations of a high risk approach for the prevention of dental caries. Comm Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2002; 30:302-312
Milsom KM, Tickle M. Preventing decay in children: dare we risk the ‘risk assessment’ model in practice?. Br Dent J. 2010; 209:(4)159-160
Tickle M, Milsom KM, Blinkhorn AS. The occurrence of dental pain and extractions over a three year period in a cohort of children aged 3–6 years. J Publ Hlth Dent. 2008; 68:(2)63-69
Milsom KM, Blinkhorn AS, Tickle M. The incidence of dental caries in the primary molar teeth of young children receiving National Health Service funded dental care in practices in the North West of England. 2008;
Marmot M.London: UCL Institution of Health Equity; 2010
Bates B, Lennox A, Prentice A, Bates C, Swan G. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: a Survey carried out on behalf of the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency. Headline results from Years 1, 2 and 3 (combined) of the Rolling Programme. 2013;
Page J, Weld JA, Kidd EAM. Caries control in health service practice. Br Dent J. 2010; 208:(10)449-450
Watt RG, Steele JG, Treasure ET, White DA, Pitts NB, Murray JJ. Adult Dental Health Survey 2009: implications of findings for clinical practice and oral health policy. Br Dent J. 2013; 214:(2)71-75
White DA, Tsakos G, Pitts NB, Fuller E, Douglas GVA, Murray JJ Adult Dental Health Survey 2009: common oral health conditions and their impact on the population. Br Dent J. 2012; 213:(11)567-572
Threlfall AG, Hunt CM, Milsom KM, Tickle M, Blinkhorn AS. Exploring factors that influence general dental practitioners when providing advice to help prevent caries in children. Br Dent J. 2007; 202:(4)216-217
Embracing an evidence-based toolkit for prevention – personal accounts Esther Hagan-Brown Jennifer E Gallagher Dental Update 2024 41:9, 707-709.
Authors
EstherHagan-Brown
Community and Special Care Dentistry, Cambridgeshire Community Dental Services (former SHO in Dental Public Health, King's College Hospital NHS Trust and VDP in Primary Dental Care, 2008–2010)
Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health, King's College London Dental Institute at Guy's, King's College and St Thomas' Hospitals, Department of Oral Health Services Research and Dental Public Health, Oral Health Workforce and Education Research Group, London, UK
Recent changes in healthcare include a shift from mainly restorative or operative-focused healthcare towards more preventive models of patient care. Oral diseases are common and yet largely controllable, thus it is increasingly a priority for dental professionals to support patients in order to promote good health and control disease in an evidence-informed manner.
The publication of the first edition of Delivering Better Oral Health – An Evidence-based Toolkit for Prevention, in England in 2007,1 was an important milestone in this process. It provided dental practitioners in England with a clear synthesis of contemporary evidence. These practical guidelines, now updated, offer the potential for consistency in practice and emphasize the importance of delivering preventive dentistry for everyone in the population, together with special measures for high-risk patients.
Clinical Relevance: This article provides an overview of the key messages in Delivering Better Oral Health and explores how these evidencebased guidelines may be implemented by dental professionals across education, policy and practice, based on personal examples from previous editions.1,2 This article is of relevance for all dental professionals and can act as a guide to implementing the recently published updated Toolkit.3
Article
In a move to support improvement in oral health rather than merely focus on operativebased services, the Department of Health in England, working with the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD), published a comprehensive evidence-informed Toolkit for dental professionals in 2007.1 The second edition of Delivering Better Oral Health – An Evidence-based Toolkit for Prevention was distributed to all NHS dentists in England in the summer of 2009.2 The third edition has just been published, the development process having been led by Public Health England,3 and with both an executive summary and the main document accessible via their website. There are plans for distribution to the profession but no need to wait – it is online now!
Prior to the Toolkit there was no standardized guideline for prevention and disease control for dental professionals and therefore all were applying their individual knowledge and understanding of what was deemed as clinically appropriate. Much will have depended on when, and where, dental professionals qualified and to what extent they had kept up-to-date.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Dental Update and reading some of our resources. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits: