2. Sugar frequency and fluoride that actually happens

Frequency beats a single “bad” food

Sipping a sweet drink all afternoon keeps the mouth acidic. Three meals and a planned snack is a different pattern from grazing. Ask what is in the bottle at the desk, not only “do you eat sweets”.

Hidden sugar

Dried fruit, juice, honey in tea, ketchup, some “healthy” bars. You are not the sugar police. You are explaining acid attacks. For children, the carer controls the pattern — talk to them.

Fluoride

Toothpaste strength, spit don’t rinse, and age-appropriate amounts are core UK messages. Prescription high-fluoride toothpaste and varnish programmes sit with clinicians who are in scope and following the current official tables. Do not invent a concentration from memory in this quiz.

Dry mouth, orthodontics, disability

Prevention is harder when the patient cannot spit, has appliances, or lives with a carer. Adapt: smear techniques, timing around medicines that dry the mouth, and realistic home care. Special care is a team problem, not a lecture on willpower.

Erosion

Carbonated drinks, fruit teas, wine, reflux. Timing of brushing after acid. Same respect: information, not disgust.