Methods: A self-completed questionnaire was sent to Community Service dentists and a number of GDPs identified though Health Board (HB) and GDC Dental Register. The circulation also included dental service managers, consultants in Dental Public Health and social care staff. The questionnaire covered: specific aspects of current assessment; perceived importance of these elements; perceptions of the value of a standardised assessment tool. Preliminary to the survey, Service managers were asked to supply any written protocol/s or procedure/s relating to this topic.
Results: 160 dentists responded (68%). Most frequently reported aspects of assessment related to treatment needs, other oral problems, urgency of treatment need and whether examination was complete. Issues relating to carers (need for carer information or training, support from and for carers) and barriers to treatment (risk to staff, communication difficulties) were the least frequently reported. Oral health risk factors most frequently cited as being assessed were diet and severity/complexity of disability, while alcohol use, pica, problems with co-ordination, swallowing and saliva, and the effect of diet supplements and medication were the least frequently reported. Differences in reported assessment content between HBs are not explained by whether a written protocol was in place. Dentists' perceptions of the importance of different elements did not necessarily correspond with those of social care staff.
Conclusions: Assessment practice appeared partial and variable between HBs, speculatively because it may have been based on practice for older people or was dentist, nurse or carer-led. Existence of assessment protocols did not in itself appear to influence reported practice, implying that with or without protocols dental teams tend to measure the same limited criteria. Funding: EASTREN, Project 123/05.