Fluoride, Sugar and Common Risk Factors

Fluoride, Sugar and Common Risk Factors supports meeting P 3.4*. For dental nurses, this means being able to support patients and the team while staying within scope of practice.

Prevention at a community level includes universal actions for everyone and targeted measures for higher-risk groups. DBOH and NICE guidance recommend considering fluoride, diet, oral hygiene, smoking, alcohol and other shared risk factors when planning interventions and evaluating their impact.

What to notice in practice

• Fluoride: give evidence-based, consistent and realistic advice for the patient.
• Sugar: give evidence-based, consistent and realistic advice for the patient.
• Smoking: give evidence-based, consistent and realistic advice for the patient.
• Alcohol: give evidence-based, consistent and realistic advice for the patient.
• Common risk factors: ask what the patient or colleague needs next, then hand over or escalate clearly.

The dental nurse role is to know why these approaches are used, reinforce agreed messages and help the team avoid unsupported advice or actions that increase inequalities by only reaching easier-to-reach patients.

Good practice is practical and visible: prepare, listen, check understanding, hand over clearly and raise recurring patterns for practice learning. This turns the SPF outcome into routine practice rather than a line in a framework.

Research and system context

Evidence-based prevention should be effective, acceptable, proportionate and fair.