Dental update
-
Improving health is part of the Government's wider public health agenda and central to this theme is the requirement to help patients make informed healthy choices. The aim of the article is to review the basis of oral health promotion in primary dental care, explain why it is necessary and to give some practical tips on behaviour change in practice. ⋯ Understanding and relating well to your patients can make oral health promotion more successful, with communication skills being paramount in achieving this goal, along with the creation of a supportive health-orientated practice environment.