Evaluation of a workshop to develop dental undergraduates' behaviour change conversation knowledge and skills

The General Dental Council’s Safe Practitioner framework of behaviours and outcomes for dental professional education outline the need for dental undergraduates to learn evidence-based approaches to clinical practice. The Dental RECUR Brief Negotiated Interview (DR-BNI) is an effective oral health behaviour change intervention that draws upon psychological frameworks of disease prevention, behaviour change science, and patient-facing communication skills. Training in this approach involves developing participants’ knowledge of childhood caries, and confidence applying personalised preventive advice to clinical practice via supervised role-play.
This study explored the effectiveness of a DR-BNI training workshop on developing dental undergraduates’ behaviour change conversation knowledge and confidence. Seventeen participants completed a pre-post evaluation which assessed their knowledge of DR-BNI-related topics and confidence in applying relevant skills to clinical practice.
Participants’ knowledge of all topics including the development of dental caries in children, motivational interviewing, and behaviour change theory significantly increased following the workshop. Participants’ confidence in applying skills for delivering a behaviour chance conversation with a dental patient also significantly increased.
The DR-BNI represents a useful model for developing dental undergraduates’ behaviour change conversation knowledge and confidence.