title: Explaining diet as a risk factor for periodontal disease in primary dental care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  An audit was carried out to assess the delivery of dietary advice in general dental practice for patients diagnosed with chronic/aggressive periodontitis, with the objective of finding ways to deliver dietary advice and improve patient education on a potentially important modifiable risk factor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Following a retrospective pilot sample, an initial sample of 50 patients (of dentists, a dental therapist and dental hygienist) was selected. The delivery of dietary advice and the method by which it was given was recorded as part of the data set. A semi-structured interview was also completed to discuss various aspects of delivering dietary advice. A staff meeting was carried out following the first cycle to raise awareness and inform on the link between diet and periodontal disease. Following this a second cycle was carried out to complete the audit cycle and the results were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was evident that following the first cycle dietary advice was not being given with respect to periodontal prevention. While the standard set was not met following re-audit there was significant improvement in the delivery of dietary advice as well as different ways to deliver the information. The feedback from the semi-structured interview suggested various obstacles in delivering dietary advice including lack of knowledge at first and also overloading patients with too much information initially.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using the entire dental team can be an effective way of educating our patients on risk factors for periodontal disease. It is important to note that this audit focused on clinicians delivering the advice and future direction should consider patient compliance and uptake of information.
authors.affiliation: Walmley Dental Practice, General Dental Practice, 3 Walmley Chambers, Birmingham, B76 1NQ.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raindi
authors.affiliation: Walmley Dental Practice, General Dental Practice, 3 Walmley Chambers, Birmingham, B76 1NQ.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thornley
authors.affiliation: Walmley Dental Practice, General Dental Practice, 3 Walmley Chambers, Birmingham, B76 1NQ.|Health Education West Midlands, Coventry Dental Foundation Training Scheme.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thornley
mesh_terms: D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods*; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003815:Dentists; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012307:Risk Factors