Abstract
Dental caries are the most common chronic disease among children and are considered a precursor to chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In Australia in 2015 more than half of six, seven and eight year old children had experienced dental caries (55.1%, 57.5% and 62.4% respectively). In addition, 5772 children between the ages of 0–14 years in 2014–2015 had either restoration or removal of teeth under general anaesthetic. Four tools have been identified that are used for caries risk assessment, although the current framework for management of dental caries is a treatment‐based framework, rather than one focusing on prevention. Prevention would involve education and counselling by an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). The aim of this research was to develop an evidence‐based oral health screening tool that will allow dental practitioners and hygienists to refer patients to an APD for nutrition education and counselling. Eight risk factors were identified including: previous caries experience, consumption of high sugar drinks, socioeconomic status, exposure to sugar between meals, use of bottle or sippy cup, exposure to fluoride, regularity of teeth brushing, bacteria and maternal psychology. To our knowledge there are currently no preventative tools in the literature. The risk factors identified were used to develop a preliminary screening tool, which uses an addition system to facilitate the referral of paediatric patients to accredited practising dietitians for dietary education and counselling
Original language | English |
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Pages | 54-54 |
Number of pages | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Event | 34th National Conference Dietitians Association of Australia: Cultivating Fresh Evidence - Hobart, Hobart, Australia Duration: 18 May 2017 → 20 May 2017 |
Conference
Conference | 34th National Conference Dietitians Association of Australia |
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Country/Territory | Australia |
City | Hobart |
Period | 18/05/17 → 20/05/17 |