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Implementation of Child Healthy Weight Guidelines in the Dental Setting: A Pilot Study
Amy R Villarosa1,2,3, Della Maneze1,4, Lucie Ramjan1,3,4
1Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health (ACIOH), School of Nursing & Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology
|June 23, 2026
Summary
Dental staff can help combat rising childhood obesity by identifying and referring overweight children. Implemented strategies showed some improvements in attitudes and adherence to healthy weight guidelines, particularly in one district.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatric Obesity
- Dental Public Health
Background:
- Increasing prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity globally and in Australia.
- NSW government guidelines mandate public dental services to identify and refer overweight children.
- Study aimed to codesign and pilot implementation strategies for these guidelines in dental settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To codesign and pilot strategies to integrate childhood healthy weight guidelines into public dental services.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies on dental staff's intention and practice.
- To assess changes in children's growth assessment rates within dental services.
Main Methods:
- Pre-post-test design across two NSW health districts (2019-2022).
- Co-designed strategies included resources, training, and templates.
- Validated questionnaires and patient management system data were used to measure outcomes.
Main Results:
- No overall improvement in intention to engage with guidelines (iCHEW scale).
- Significant improvement in attitude scores and adherence to healthy weight guidelines observed in District 2.
- Varied odds of growth assessments based on dental staff type and clinic location across districts.
Conclusions:
- Dental staff play a crucial role in addressing childhood obesity, despite implementation challenges.
- Co-designed strategies showed potential for improving behavioral determinants and self-reported practices.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm findings.
