Evidence summary: how can dietary advice to prevent dental erosion be effectively delivered in UK general dental practice?

Abstract

Since August 2009, members of the newly redeveloped Primary Care Dentistry Research Forum (http://www.dentistryresearch.org) have taken part in an online vote to identify questions in day-to-day practice that they felt most needed to be answered with conclusive research. The question which received the most votes formed the subject of a critical appraisal of the relevant literature. Each month a new round of voting takes place to decide which further questions will be reviewed. Dental practitioners and dental care professionals are encouraged to take part in the voting and submit their own questions to be included in the vote by joining the website. This paper details a summary of the findings of the third critical appraisal. In conclusion, the critical appraisal has identified that there is no conclusive answer to this question at present. No evidence was identified relating to the effectiveness of different strategies to apply dietary advice for the prevention of dental erosion. Given the apparently increasing prevalence of the disease in industrialised countries, this appears to be a priority area for future primary research.