Barriers to the delivery of smoking cessation advice in general dental practice-a scoping review
Victoria Niven1,2, Jeyanthi H John2
1Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, Bessemer Rd, SE5 9RS, London.
Background:
Although dentists provide dental care to many smokers, the extent to which they provide smoking cessation advice (SCA) is uncertain. This article reviews current literature identifying the delivery of and barriers to SCA.
Methods:
This scoping review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute framework. Peer-reviewed literature was retrieved in April 2025 from Ovid MEDLINE® and Embase for 2000-25. After screening, data were extracted to identify the frequency of SCA delivery in general dental practice, factors influencing delivery, and associated barriers.
Results:
Fourteen articles were eligible for inclusion, the most common study design was a cross-sectional survey, and half were conducted using general dental practitioner participants only. Factors such as age, sex, National Health Service (NHS)/Private orientated practices, views on health promotion, and the smoking status of the dental care provider influenced SCA practices. The five main barriers to delivery were lack of time, lack of training, lack of remuneration, lack of patient interest, and risk of damaging patient rapport.
Conclusion:
Multiple barriers influencing the delivery of SCA in general dental practice need to be addressed. Future research may focus on supporting SCA delivery by dental professionals in the dental practice and as part of multi-disciplinary teams.
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