[ldquo]I brush my teeth once a month[rdquo]: a service evaluation of dental team led oral health advice alongside complications from excess weight (CEW) clinics

Large Jessica F; Nivedita Aswani; Zoe Marshman; Joanne Charlesworth; Julie Waining; Emma Bingham; Dyer Tom A

doi:10.1530/endoabs.111.P59

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Endocrine Abstracts (2025) 111 P59 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.111.P59

BSPED2025 Poster Presentations Obesity 1 (8 abstracts)

“I brush my teeth once a month”: a service evaluation of dental team led oral health advice alongside complications from excess weight (CEW) clinics

Jessica F Large ¹ , Nivedita Aswani ² , Zoe Marshman ¹ , Joanne Charlesworth ³ , Julie Waining ⁴ , Emma Bingham ¹ & Tom A Dyer ¹

Author affiliations

¹School of Clinical Dentistry, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom; ²Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, United Kingdom; ³Community and Special Care Dentistry, Sheffield, United Kingdom; ⁴Charles Clifford Dental Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom

Introduction: Oral health (OH) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are key areas in CORE20PLUS5. Sugar consumption is a common risk factor for dental decay, obesity and T2D. Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) teams have observed many children and young people (CYP) are living in the most deprived quintiles, are high risk for decay, do not access dental care, and live with neurodiversity. A collaboration between CEW and dental teams is facilitating access to urgent/routine dental care via a bespoke pathway and provision of OH advice with a one stop shop. A service evaluation was undertaken to explore anecdotal findings and inform service development.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed to explore CYP’s oral hygiene and dietary practices, access to dental care, and dental problems. An OH team supported one CEW clinic per month for 12 months. Families received tailored OH advice from the OH team after their CEW appointment and were invited to complete the questionnaire. A dental student outreach programme was implemented concurrently, to support these sessions, and student learning about the interplay of oral and systemic disease and social determinants of health.

Results: Thirty-three questionnaires were completed between January – December 2024. Two CYP (6%) had never visited a dental team and seven (21%) reported current dental problems. Only 17 CYP (52%) reported brushing teeth twice daily and six (18%) never brushing or brushing less than once a week. Chocolate and sweets (n = 16; 49%), water (n = 16; 48%) and squash (n = 14; 42%) were the most frequently consumed snacks and beverages. Twenty-two families (67%) reported what they had learned, which included upskilling brushing technique, importance of fluoride toothpaste and awareness of sugar content in food/drinks and impact on oral health. Students attending reported positive learning experiences.

Conclusion: Findings suggest CYP attending CEW are at high risk of dental disease and families were receptive to OH advice. The frequency of OH support is increasing and resources to support OH for CYP with neurodiversity are under development. This inter-professional collaboration aligns with the NHS 10 Year Plan by facilitating access to dental care and supporting CYP with both their weight and OH.