From Volume 49, Issue 3, March 2022 | Pages 233-237
Clinicians can use behaviour change techniques effectively in routine consultations in healthcare settings, including dentistry. Professional guidelines support their use for preventing and managing a range of dental diseases. Theory and evidence from behavioural science can inform effective behaviour change interventions. This article examines the relevance of these techniques to the whole dental team and how they can be implemented within routine dental consultations.
Health behaviour change plays an increasingly important role in preventive dental care. Psychological theories are important in understanding health behaviours and in developing effective interventions to support health behaviour change. Public Health England recommend that dentists introduce the topic of behaviour change with their patients, and this approach is supported in multiple NHS policies and initiatives. For example, the NHS ‘Making Every Contact Count’ initiative1 recommends that every opportunity to have behaviour change-related conversations with patients should be capitalized on. ‘Delivering better oral health: an evidence based toolkit for prevention’2 also contains guidance for dental teams from Public Health England and the UK Department of Health and Social Care. This publication describes the importance of behaviour change interventions within dental practices and identifies those behaviours that should be targets for change.
Routine dental check-ups in the NHS offer important opportunities for ongoing intervention, potentially occurring routinely throughout patients' lifespans. Our research3 found that behaviour change conversations are acceptable to dental professionals and patients, particularly if they are linked directly to oral and dental health outcomes.
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