The development of a consensus among primary care dentists of referral criteria for school dental screening

Objective: To obtain consensus amongst a sample of primary care dentists in the North West of England on a set of clinical criteria that should trigger referral following school dental screening. Design: Delphi process. Setting: Primary dental care, England 2002. Method: Primary care dentists in the North West of England were randomly selected to complete a two round 'Delphi exercise' that included 10 potential referral criteria. The dentists were invited to express their level of support for the inclusion of each referral criterion. Main outcome measures: Level of agreement for each referral criterion. Acceptance of any criterion was that the interquartile range should be no more than 3 scale points with the lower value being no less than 7. Results: Eighty-eight dentists, (72.7%), completed the Delphi exercise. Six referral criteria met with the groups' approval: • Child with caries in permanent dentition • Child with darkened/discoloured permanent incisors • Child aged 9-10 years with overjet greater than 10 mm • Child over six years with either gross plaque, calculus or swollen gums • Child with evidence of sepsis • Child registered with a GDP with caries in permanent dentition. Conclusion: It is possible for a representative sample of primary care dentists in the North West to agree referral criteria following school dental screening. © British Dental Journal 2005.