Adherence to Nice Guidelines on Recall Intervals and the FGDP(UK) Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography

Aim The study investigated adherence of GDPs to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on recall intervals and the FGDP(UK)'s Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography. It also explored any factors that might influence GDPs’ compliance with the guidelines. Method A previously piloted questionnaire was circulated to all GDPs within the district of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB). The questionnaire sought demographic data as well as answers to questions relating to compliance with guidelines. Results Of 215 questionnaires, 133 (61.9%) were returned. One hundred a nd thirty (97.7%) respondents were familiar with NICE recall guidelines and 112 (84.2%) were familiar with the FGDP(UK) publication Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography. Thirty six (27.7%) ‘always’ followed the NICE recall guidelines and, overall, 108 (81.8%) ‘always or mostly’ followed the guidance. Fifty one (38.6%) respondents ‘always’ carried out a caries risk assessment for adult patients and 57 (43.5%) ‘always’ carried out a caries risk assessment for child patients. Seventy nine (59.8%) reported that they ‘always or mostly’ recorded the patient's disease risk category in the notes. Fifty two (39.7%) respondents ‘always’ took bitewing radiographs that corresponded to disease risk. Overall, however, 119 GDPs (90.8%) ‘always or mostly’ took bitewing radiographs at appropriate intervals according to disease risk. Bitewing radiographs for new adult patients were prescribed more often for new child patients. The dentist's length of experience, NHS commitment, country of graduation, access to digital radiography or panoramic machines, receipt of any postgraduate qualifications or involvement in dental foundation training were proven not to have any statistically significant association with adherence to NICE or FGDP(UK) guidelines. Conclusions Most dentists are familiar with NICE guidelines on recall intervals and the FGDP(UK)'s Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography. The number of dentists who always comply with these sets of guidance is low. None of the variables investigated were shown to have any statistically significant association with adherence to these guidelines.