Assessment

Assessment

Successful prevention and management of caries is dependent on a thorough assessment of the child. A comprehensive assessment needs to include the following elements if the personal care plan is to be effective in improving the child’s oral health: 

• Parent/carer motivation and responsibility
• Patient history
• Clinical examination
• Caries risk assessment

Although listed as discrete items, most clinicians assess these simultaneously and it is important that through gathering this information, the need for collaborative working with others (e.g. health visitor, school nurse or other relevant professionals) to provide the child with any additional support is also assessed.

An assessment of the developing occlusion is also necessary for children with mixed dentition. This might influence a personal care plan for the prevention and management of dental caries (e.g. when considering first permanent molars of poor prognosis or extraction of primary teeth). However, detailed consideration of the management of occlusion is beyond the scope of this guidance. If clinicians have concerns, the child should be referred for specialist advice following local protocols.