Nutritional counseling practices: how do North Carolina pediatric dentists weigh in?
It has been demonstrated that nutrition/healthy lifestyle counseling can help alleviate the childhood obesity crisis. Because pediatric dentists see children with regular frequency, they are uniquely positioned to help provide such counseling.


OBJECTIVE
To document current nutrition/healthy lifestyle counseling practices of pediatric dentists in NC and examine factors associated with those practices.


METHODS
A 65-item survey instrument was developed by an expert committee, pilot-tested and revised. The instrument contained questions in 6 domains: Academic Preparation, Knowledge, Confidence, Opinions, Practice Patterns and Barriers. It was sent to all clinically active pediatric dentists in NC.


RESULTS
The response rate was 69% (70/102). Less than 25% provided nutrition counseling services. Academic preparation in residency training was statistically significant (P<.05) in determining those who practiced nutritional counseling. Logistic regression revealed that respondents with higher overall knowledge (OR=18.2), those comfortable discussing weight-related issues (OR=47.7), those in practice >10 years (OR=20.6), and females (OR=173) were more likely to provide nutrition/healthy lifestyle counseling.


CONCLUSIONS
All respondents believed that childhood obesity is a major health concern and expressed a willingness to assist other health professionals in addressing this problem. These findings offer a rich source of data that can be used for educational initiatives and strategic planning.
Braithwaite
Antonio S
AS
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Vann
William F
WF
Switzer
Boyd R
BR
Boyd
Kevin L
KL
Lee
Jessica Y
JY
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003376:Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004497:Education, Dental; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D009657:North Carolina; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*