Clear Criteria for referral of children following school dental inspection can be established

Abstract

Aim To clarify the function of the school based dental inspection

Objective For representatives of the Community Dental Service, General Dental Service and Hospital Dental Service to identify an agreed set of criteria for the referral of children following school dental inspection.

Design Qualitative research methodology used to establish a consensus for the inclusion of referral criteria following dental screening.

Setting Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England

Materials A Delphi technique was used to establish a consensus among the study participants on the inclusion of nine possible criteria for referral following dental screening. All participants scored each criterion in the range 1-9, with a score of 1 indicating that referral of individuals with the condition should definitely not take place, and a score of 9 indicating referral should definitely take place. Referral criteria were accepted only if they achieved a group median score of 7 or more, with an interquartile range of three scale points, with the lower value being no less than 7.

Results Four of the nine possible criteria met the agreed group standard for inclusion: 'Sepsis', 'Caries in the secondary dentition', 'Overjet > 10 mm', and 'Registered & caries in the permanent dentition'.

Conclusion It is possible to agree clear criteria for the referral of children following the school dental inspection.

Key Points

• Local agreement was obtained on four clinical criteria to trigger referral following school dental inspection.

• This methodology is widely applicable with different criteria addressing local needs.

• The process leads to greater standardisation.

• This approach permits the effectiveness of the school dental inspection to be evaluated.

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