- Title
- Diet and nutrition education as part of preventive oral healthcare: exploring Australian dental and oral health therapists' experiences in contemporary practice
- Creator
- Franks, Kay; Taylor, Jane; Wallace, Janet; Baines, Surinder
- Relation
- The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Dental and Oral Health Therapy Vol. 7, Issue 2, p. 24-28
- Relation
- https://www.adohta.net.au/page-1075591
- Publisher
- Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapist's Association
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2019
- Description
- Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of registered dental and oral health therapists when providing diet and nutrition education as part of preventive oral health care. Methodology: The study design was guided by a qualitative description methodology Data collected included experiences and knowledge from focus group interviews conducted between September 2016 and July 2017, in city, regional, and rural locations in three states of Australia. Part-time or full-time clinicians currently working were included. Seven open-ended questions guided discussion, allowing personal perspective, experience, expertise and external influences to emerge framed in a clinical context. De-identified data were entered in QSR International's NVivo 11, (NVivo 11. 2016) analysed and order ed into key emergent themes. Results: Participants agreed that prevention, including diet and nutrition education, was an underpinning tenet of any treatment plan to improve patient oral health outcomes. They established that in the current climate of dietary related disease burdens, diet and nutrition should be discussed with patients at each appointment. Further discussion, however, indicated this was not routine practice. Barriers to providing diet and nutrition education were similar across practice types and location, and included patients' attitudes and organisational constraints. Efficacy of dietary messages mainly relied on patient self-reporting and absence of disease. Participants acknowledged that changing long-term dietary behaviours is challenging. The clinician's confidence was identified as crucial to delivering successful diet and nutrition education, with confidence levels varying with age, experience, undergraduate education and a supportive practice environment. Conclusion: Both undergraduate education and ongoing professional development for registered dental and oral health therapists needs to engage and reinforce clinician commitment to raise awareness of poor dietary choices and promote healthy eating as part of contemporary preventive oral health care.
- Subject
- diet; nutrition; education; oral health care; dental health therapists; oral health therapists; Australia
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1454268
- Identifier
- uon:44884
- Identifier
- ISSN:2200-3584
- Language
- eng
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