Table 2 Themes and sub-themes of common facilitators to behaviour change conversations amongst dental team members, parents and children, and recommendations for practice

An engaging and personalised dental visit for parents and children

Visual displays and resources to engage parents and children

Visual resources, such as posters within the clinic, helped draw the attention of children and their parents. Displays and resources (e.g., both digital and paper-based) were viewed as an effective method to initiate oral health conversations that can be continued by different members of the dental team throughout the dental visit

Wanting a friendly and interesting environment

Participants shared a preference for the dental clinic to be attractive and engaging to encourage conversations that are remembered by parents and children

Involving the child within the dental visit

Discussions with parents and children highlighted that advice was usually directed at the parent rather than the child. There is a balance between empowering the older child to engage with their oral health behaviours while reinforcing the importance of parents providing oversight

Dental teams, parents and children working collaboratively to improve oral health habits

Reminders to brush

While the morning brush was often completed and ingrained into their routine, children described how evening brushing was often forgotten. Exploring how morning and evening toothbrushing behaviours differ and examining the barriers and facilitators to each allowed personalised non-judgement conversations to take place

Supporting healthy eating and drinking habits

Children spoke about how difficult it was for them to refrain from consuming sugary items even though they know they were not good for them. Dental team members felt that parents needed to be aware of their critical role in supporting their child’s healthy eating habits and in managing their child’s wider environment

Communicating optimal oral health messages to wider family and friends

Communicating optimal oral health messages to wider family and friends, such as limiting sugary snacks and the importance of toothbrushing was described as difficult for both parents and dental team members. Exploring these challenges can allow dental team members to develop a rapport with parents and open up this important topic of conversation

Recommending appropriate oral health products

A focus on the practicalities of products

Dental teams were mindful of which products to recommend based on the price and long-term use of the products. However, many parents and children reported owning such products. Dental teams can help by providing appropriate advice on suitable products where parents are keen to find out more

The products should be attractive

Children were often responsible for choosing which toothbrush to buy. Therefore, products that were attractive to them were more likely to be bought and can motivate children to engage with optimal oral health behaviours

The difficulties of transitioning onto stronger tasting fluoride toothpaste

Parents frequently purchase their child’s toothpaste without children having a role in the choice of what to buy. The stronger mint flavour of adult/family toothpaste can act as a barrier to transitioning from a child to adult toothpaste as the permanent teeth erupt. This caused difficulty for both parents and dental team members who want to encourage the transition to a toothpaste with higher fluoride content. Recommending a very small amount of adult/family toothpaste from the outset with careful application by an adult can prevent these later difficulties