Article
Alcohol identification and brief advice in dental settings
I read with interest the article by Shepherd and Ogden on alcohol and the dental team.1 Dental teams are in a unique position to provide brief advice and support to their patients who drink above the lower risk levels.
Following the publication of the UK Chief Medical Officers' Low Risk Drinking Guidelines,2 the section on alcohol misuse and oral health within Delivery Better Oral Health: An Evidence-based Toolkit for Prevention has been revised.3 Lower risk drinking implies that no level of alcohol consumption is completely safe. The guideline states that ‘lower risk’ is not regularly exceeding 14 units per week, spread evenly over the week. This is the level that a patient's alcohol consumption should not exceed. For both men and women, increasing risk is regularly drinking more than 14 units per week.
In addition, a dedicated e-learning course entitled Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) in Dental Settings has been developed for the whole dental team. This e-learning module consists of three sessions and an assessment. The sessions have been designed to help you learn more about alcohol units and the risks associated with alcohol consumption. You will see examples of undertaking alcohol IBA with your patients in a dental setting. The final stage of the e-learning resource is an assessment to test your knowledge gained and enables you to print a certificate on completing the course. This free e-learning course is available at https://www.alcohollearningcentre.org.uk/eLearning/IBA