Project Lead: Aline Dragosits
Authors: Julia Kern-Kim, Aline Dragosits, Verena Steiner-Hofbauer
Duration: Q1 2026 to Q4 2026 (8 PM)
Language: English (with German summary)
To promote oral health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted a global strategy and an action plan for the period 2023–2030. It recommends a package of measures comprising safe and cost-effective prevention, prophylaxis and treatment programmes. These are intended to address both behavioural and environmental factors in order to prevent the most common dental diseases, such as caries and periodontal disease.
AIHTA was commissioned to present caries prevention in childhood as a continuous process from birth onwards and to analyse key measures in different settings in terms of their effectiveness and safety. Oral health promotion is understood here as a holistic approach: on the one hand, dental screening services for children up to the age of six are considered; on the other, oral health promotion programmes in the setting of early years settings.
The project consists of three parts:
Part I: Dental screening in healthcare for the prevention of dental caries in children up to the age of six
Only 35 per cent of children in Austria have their first visit to the dentist before the age of two, 41 per cent between the ages of three and four, and 16 per cent not until they are between five and six years old. This raises the question of whether an earlier first visit to the dentist can reduce the prevalence of dental caries among children in Austria.
AIHTA has been commissioned to provide an overview of current recommendations from international, evidence-based guidelines on screening programmes for the prevention of dental caries in children under the age of six within the healthcare system. The aim is to derive recommended tools, pathways and the professional groups involved from these recommendations. Furthermore, the current evidence regarding the effectiveness, safety and accuracy of these programmes is to be examined.
Part II: Oral health promotion programmes for caries prevention in children attending nursery and primary schools
The WHO has set a target for 2020 that at least 80 per cent of six-year-olds should be caries-free. Although the proportion of caries-free children in Austria is rising, the target is still far from being achieved, with the figure currently standing at 58 per cent. In Austria, oral health promotion and prophylaxis programmes are offered for children. The design of these programmes is the responsibility of the respective federal states and varies in terms of what is offered and how they are structured. The proportion of caries-free 6- to 7-year-olds also varies: it is highest in Tyrol at 72 per cent and lowest in Lower Austria at 46 per cent. AIHTA was commissioned to analyse the current evidence on the effectiveness and safety of oral health promotion programmes for caries prevention in nursery schools and primary schools. The focus here is on identifying and evaluating key programme characteristics that are associated with greater health benefits.
Part III: Contextualisation for Austria
Based on the findings of the first and second parts of the project, recommendations for caries prevention in Austria are drawn up.