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A Pilot Study

Background. There are twice as many U.S. children who are overweight or at risk of being overweight as there were 20 years ago. Dental care professionals have an opportunity to provide obesity prevention interventions to their patients. The authors present a dental office–based healthy weight intervention (HWI) protocol designed for all children.

Conclusions. Preventive dental office visits are an opportunity for dental care professionals to provide HWIs to children. The authors found that the HWI they described is feasible and can be well-accepted in a pediatric dental care setting. Caregivers and dental care providers said they considered the HWI to be useful, and it was well-accepted by children.

Clinical Implications. Healthy eating and lifestyle behaviors can have a positive effect on systemic health and oral health. Better food choices can reduce dental caries, and the prevention of obesity-related systemic diseases, particularly diabetes, can help patients maintain good oral health.

Key Words: Dental care for children; dental offices; obesity; nutrition; weight loss; behavioral sciences

Abbreviations: BMI: Body mass index. • HWI: Healthy weight intervention.