Methodology

Guidance development methodology

SDCEP uses a methodology for guidance development that aims to be transparent, systematic and to adhere as far as possible to international standards set out by the AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation) Collaboration (www.agreetrust.org). Details of the guidance development methodology used by SDCEP to produce guidance are available at www.sdcep.org.uk/how-we-work/guidance-development-process.

Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children was first published in 2010 and was fully updated in 2018 following SDCEP’s NICE-accredited guidance development process. Recommendations for caries prevention in children were primarily based on the evidence on which the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) guideline 138 Dental Interventions to Prevent Caries in Children is based.²³ Recommendations on the management of dental caries were expanded, with a more comprehensive approach to management of children’s primary and permanent teeth and management techniques presented in a separate section. The methodology was documented in the SDCEP Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children Guidance Development Methodology (2018).

Details about the updating for the third edition of the SDCEP Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children guidance are given below and in the accompanying Guidance Update Methodology (2025) document which will be available via this website.

Scoping

A scoping survey of dental professionals was conducted in early 2023, by SDCEP’s partner programme TRiaDS, to inform a review of the guidance. Feedback on the guidance was also sought from the Guidance Development Group (GDG) members. A surveillance review of the topic was carried out to assess whether there were any developments or changes in the evidence base that would impact on the guidance recommendations and inform any updating required. It was concluded that while there was a need to update specific aspects of the guidance, a full update of the guidance was not required.

Updating

In this third edition, updating focused on aspects where there was new evidence or other recent developments, and many parts of the guidance remain unchanged from the second edition. To conduct the update, summaries of evidence and other information relating to the aspects for updating identified through scoping, were prepared and shared with the GDG. These discussion points were considered by the GDG and updates to the guidance content agreed.

Peer review

Targeted external peer review of a draft of the updated guidance was carried out in October 2024. Peer reviewers, representing a range of expertise and experience in relevant dental fields and/or knowledge of guidance development methodology, were asked to comment on the draft with a focus on the significant changes to the guidance. They were also asked to provide any other relevant feedback. All peer reviewer comments were considered, and the guidance amended accordingly prior to publication.

Implementation

During the development of the second edition of the guidance, potential barriers to the implementation of this guidance were identified. These were reconsidered during the guidance updating for the third edition. An Implementation Summary for this guidance will be available via this website. An assessment of the potential impact of this guidance on equality target groups was also conducted.

Future updates

For this guidance, a review of the topic will take place five years after publication and, if this has changed significantly, the guidance will be updated accordingly.