Patients' knowledge of risk factors for dental disease. A pilot service evaluation in a general dental practice

The major dental diseases, including erosion, caries and periodontal disease, are preventable, and the Department of Health has produced guidelines in a 'Prevention Toolkit' to aid prevention of these diseases in primary care.

To investigate patients' knowledge of the key themes in the Prevention Toolkit and to compare their knowledge of the different dental diseases.

Patients attending a general dental practice in North West England were asked to complete a questionnaire while they waited to see their dentist. The questionnaire had been piloted for readability, relevance of questions, and ease of use. It included nine true/false questions on key prevention messages. Data from the respondents were used to assess whether there were differences in knowledge by age or gender and between the types of dental diseases. Results were analysed using chi-square tests.

105 patients completed the questionnaire. Of the 420 questions relating to periodontal diseases, 322 (77%) were answered correctly and 196 (47%) of the 420 questions on caries were answered correctly; however, only 32 (31%) of the 105 questions relating to erosion were answered correctly. There were significantly lower levels of knowledge of caries (P<0.01) compared with periodontal diseases. Worryingly, 47 (45%) of 105 respondents stated incorrectly that brushing teeth immediately after consuming a 'fizzy' drink would protect the teeth.

The results of this pilot service evaluation indicate that in the practice concerned, more needs to be done to promote disease prevention at the primary care level. The current questionnaire could form a valuable tool to audit and reinforce patients' knowledge, although it needs further development and validation. Longitudinal evaluation of the questionnaire, linking it with disease outcome measures, has the potential to indicate whether change in knowledge translates into behavioural change.