How to have healthy conversations: Contemporary Evidence and Behaviour Change Tools in support of Delivering Better (Oral) Health.

The aim of this paper is to provide dental professionals with insight into how the science of behaviour change can be used to support patients to change their oral health behaviours. The paper describes how the fourth version of Delivering Better Oral Health (DBOHv4) published in November 2021, brings together the theory plus key principles and practical tools in Chapter 3 "Behaviour change", to help front-line clinicians achieve the best effect. DBOH is freely available to all online at gov.uk and is a key resource for dental teams for the prevention of oral diseases.

Inequalities in health and oral health in the UK.

UNLABELLED: New legislation is increasingly recognizing that addressing diversity is a crucial issue, in order that the health and social service needs of the whole population can be better met by equitable access, experience, and outcome. This paper aims to: describe the evolution of the UK inequalities agenda together with some of the governmental responses; consider aspects of oral and general health in this context; and reflect on the implications for general dental practice. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Practitioners should be aware of the patient's background--social, physical and mental--as these can all impact on that person's oral and general health status, as well as his/her norms and values. This in turn can influence the capacity of that patient to accept specific care regimes and advice and hence has key implications for treatment and care.