Switch to Dark theme

References

National Statistics. Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity 2018–2019. 2019. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity (accessed October 2020)
Department of Health. Delivering Better Oral Health: An Evidence-Based Toolkit for Prevention. 2017. http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-prevention (accessed October 2020)
Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme. Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children. 2010. http://www.sdcep.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/SDCEP-Prevention-and-Management-of-Dental-Caries-in-Children-2nd-Edition.pdf (accessed October 2020)
Rogers HJ, Morgan AG, Batley H, Deery C. Why, what and how: caries prevention for erupting molars. Dent Update. 2015; 42:154-159
app. http://www.nhs.uk/apps-library/brush-dj/ (accessed October 2020)
Gill P, Stewart K, Chetcuti D, Chestnutt IG. Children's understanding of and motivations for toothbrushing: a qualitative study. Int J Dent Hygiene. 2011; 9:79-86
Marinho V, Higgins J, Logan S, Sheiham A. Fluoride toothpastes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003; 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002278
Walsh T, Worthington H, Glenny A Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019; 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858
Harris R, Gamboa A, Dailey Y, Ashcroft A. One-to-one dietary interventions undertaken in a dental setting to change dietary behaviour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012; 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006540.pub2
Marinho VCC, Worthington HV, Walsh T, Clarkson JE. Fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013; 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002279.pub2
Prabhu A, Prasanna B, Sakeenabhi B Effect of fluoride varnish and dentifrices and its combination on deciduous enamel demineralization: an in vitro study. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2017; 9:S112-S116 https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_121_17
Timms LJH, Sumner O, Deery C, Rogers HJ. Everyone else is using it, so why isn't the UK? Silver diamine fluoride for children and young people. Community Dent Health. 2020; 37:143-149
Oliveira BH, Rajendra A, Veitz-Keenan A, Niederman R. The effect of silver diamine fluoride in preventing caries in the primary dentition: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Caries Res. 2019; 53:24-32
Ahovuo-Saloranta A, Forss H, Walsh T Pit and fissure sealants for preventing dental decay in permanent teeth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017; 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001830.pub5
Mickenautsch S, Yengopal V. Caries-preventive effect of glass ionomer and resin-based fissure sealants on permanent teeth: an update of systematic review evidence. BMC Res Notes. 2011; 4 https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-4-22
Dental Check By One. Visit a dentist before your child's first birthday. 2020. https://dentalcheckbyone.co.uk/
Cascaes AM, Bielemann RM, Clark VL, Barros AJ. Effectiveness of motivational interviewing at improving oral health: a systematic review. Rev Saude Publica. 2014; 48:142-53 https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-8910.2014048004616
Gillam DG, Yusuf H. Brief motivational interviewing in dental practice. Dent J (Basel). 2019; 7 https://doi.org/10.3390/dj7020051
Pine CM, Adair PM, Burnside G Dental RECUR randomized trial to prevent caries recurrence in children. J Dent Res. 2020; 99:168-174 https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034519886808

A Practical Guide to Caries Prevention in Children

From Volume 47, Issue 10, November 2020 | Pages 849-853

Authors

Mishaal Rashid

BDS

Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Articles by Mishaal Rashid

Amy Ellis

BDS, DCT2

Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Articles by Amy Ellis

Chris Deery

BDS, MSc, FDS RCS Ed, PhD, FDS (Paed Dent), RCS Ed, FDS RCS Eng, FHEA

Professor/Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield

Articles by Chris Deery

Abstract

Caries is one of the most common diseases in the world and it is mostly preventable. Caries can have a large impact on a child's physical, social and mental health. There are a number of clinical interventions available to prevent caries and this article provides a summary of the general guidelines and tips on their implementation in relation to caries prevention in children.

CPD/Clinical Relevance: This article highlights the importance of caries prevention and the relevant interventions, especially in the context of limited access to health services. These guidelines can be beneficial for all dental health professionals.

Article

Dental caries continues to be a prevalent disease among children. The most recent Child Dental Health Survey showed that nearly half (46%) of 15 year olds and one-third (34%) of 12 year olds had ‘obvious decay experience’ in their permanent teeth and nearly one-third (31%) of 5 year olds and nearly a half (46%) of 8 year olds had obvious decay experience in their primary teeth.1

Perhaps more worryingly, data from NHS Digital show that tooth decay is the leading reason for hospital admissions among 5–9 year olds (25,702 admissions in 2018–2019).2 For the most part, dental caries is a preventable condition, with many evidence-based approaches currently being recommended.

The following recommendations have been taken from the Department of Health publication ‘Delivering Better Oral Health: An Evidence Based Toolkit for Prevention’3 as well as the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) guidelines, ‘Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children’.4

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:

What's included

  • Up to 2 free articles per month
  • New content available

Already have an account? Sign in here