Childsmile: A National Survey of Extended Duties Dental Nurses

Introduction: Childsmile (CS) is the national child oral health programme in Scotland. It aims to improve oral health and reduce inequalities. CS Practice promotes oral health improvement and clinical caries prevention in primary care dental services. Childsmile dental nurses attend training provided by NHS Education Scotland to enable them to perform the duties required in their Childsmile role. The role includes delivery of tooth-brushing and dietary advice to children and families, and application of flouride varnish to the teeth of children (aged over 2 years) in keeping with clinical guidance.

Objectives: The study aimed to measure delivery of key activities advocated as part of the extended duties dental nurse role by the CS programme, and, to assess job satisfaction within this group. A further objective was to explore which factors influence nurses' working practice and satisfaction with their role.

Methods: A postal survey was sent to all 386 registered CS practices. All CS trained nurses were asked to participate. The questionnaire measured constructs hypothesised to inhibit or promote delivery and satisfaction including professional support, adequacy of training, confidence in delivery and attitudes towards the programme. Appropriate ethical advice was obtained. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted using SPSS.

Results: Respondents reported high levels of satisfaction (69% completely or very satisfied). For children over the age of two, over 70% ‘always' provided toothbrushing and dietary interventions, compared to 35% ‘always' delivering fluoride varnish. A number of factors including aspects of professional support were found to influence satisfaction and delivery. Findings will be discussed in full.

Conclusion: This study created a profile of a previously unstudied group of professionals. A number of factors associated with delivery and satisfaction have been identified and can be fed back to the CS programme to help improve the service and increase the support available for nurses.