Evidence summary: what is the effectiveness of alternative approaches for increasing dental attendance by poor families or families from deprived areas?

In September 2009, members of the newly redeveloped Primary Care Dentistry Research Forum (http://www.dentistryresearch.org) took part in an online vote to identify questions in day-to-day practice that they felt most needed to be answered with conclusive research. The question which received the most votes formed the subject of a critical appraisal of the relevant literature. Each month a new round of voting takes place to decide which further questions will be reviewed. Dental practitioners and dental care professionals are encouraged to take part in the voting and submit their own questions to be included in the vote by joining the website.This paper details a summary of the findings of the second critical appraisal. In conclusion, the critical appraisal has identified that the most effective approaches for increasing dental attendance in families from deprived areas were the mobile dental unit at school premises and the dental access centre. The findings conclude that more high quality research is needed to determine the best ways to address the widely-acknowledged unmet treatment need of children and families in lower socioeconomic groups.