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A healthy weight intervention for children in a dental setting: a pilot study
Mary Tavares1, Virginia Chomitz
1The Forsyth Institute, 140 The Fenway, Boston, Mass. 02115, USA. mtavares@forsyth.org
Background:
There are twice as many U.S. children who are overweight or at risk of being overweight as there were 20 years ago. Dental care professionals have an opportunity to provide obesity prevention interventions to their patients. The authors present a dental office-based healthy weight intervention (HWI) protocol designed for all children.
Conclusions:
Preventive dental office visits are an opportunity for dental care professionals to provide HWIs to children. The authors found that the HWI they described is feasible and can be well-accepted in a pediatric dental care setting. Caregivers and dental care providers said they considered the HWI to be useful, and it was well-accepted by children.
Clinical Implications:
Healthy eating and lifestyle behaviors can have a positive effect on systemic health and oral health. Better food choices can reduce dental caries, and the prevention of obesity-related systemic diseases, particularly diabetes, can help patients maintain good oral health.