Oral Health Risk
Oral Health Risk Assessment Tool
- Oral Health Risk Assessments start at 6 months of age
- Should be completed at each well child visit or dental visit
- Several risk assessment tools are available, including from the ADA, AAPD, and the AAP.
- The AAP Risk Assessment Tool is the most commonly used tool in primary care in the United States. This tool has been endorsed by the NIIOH.
- Reviews to date suggest there is no validated risk assessment tool available to primary care practitioners.
Why Perform Risk Assessment?
- The tool will help you to better understand dental caries risk and protective factors in young children.
- Aids in documenting clinical findings and guides counseling.
- Fluoride varnish is recommended for all children ages 5 and under, independent of caries risk. A risk assessment tool may help you decide which children would benefit from more frequent varnish application, as the American Academy of Pediatrics 2014 guidelines recommend fluoride varnish twice annually for all children and 4 times annually (quarterly) for children at high-risk for caries.