The updated guideline keeps the twice-yearly application for children at moderate caries risk and adds, for the first time, a recommendation for adults with exposed root surfaces.

What changed

The interval for children at moderate risk stays at six months, and four applications a year remain the advice at high risk. New is a clear sentence on adults: a varnish twice a year on exposed root surfaces, with the same caveat as before on the evidence for permanent teeth.

The guideline also drops the suggestion to wait before eating after the application. Patients may eat and drink as they like, but should not brush until the next morning.

A varnish being painted on an exposed root
The varnish takes a minute per quadrant and sets on contact with saliva.

What it means at the chair

For most practices the change is one line in the recall letter for older patients and nothing for children. The authors note that the adult evidence is thinner than the paediatric one and ask for it to be read that way.