NICE CG19 Recall Intervals: What to Record in Dental Notes

What the guideline recommends

• 1.1.1: the interval "should be determined specifically for each patient and tailored to meet his or her needs, on the basis of an assessment of disease levels and risk of or from dental disease".
• 1.1.2: the assessment "should integrate the evidence presented in this guideline with the clinical judgement and expertise of the dental team, and should be discussed with the patient".
• 1.1.4: the interval is chosen "at the end of an oral health review if no further treatment is indicated, or on completion of a specific treatment journey".
• 1.1.5: "The shortest interval between oral health reviews for all patients should be 3 months." The longest is 12 months for patients younger than 18 and 24 months for patients aged 18 and over.
• 1.1.6: for practical reasons, assign 3, 6, 9 or 12 months if younger than 18, or 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 or 24 months if 18 or older.
• 1.1.8: the interval "should be reviewed again at the next oral health review", and can be extended gradually towards 24 months for someone with low disease activity once the patient and team are confident.

NICE adds that a recall interval of less than 3 months is "not normally needed for a routine dental recall", and that a patient may need to be seen more often for specific reasons such as disease management, ongoing courses of treatment or emergency interventions, which are outside the scope of an oral health review.

What to record

Recommendation 1.1.7 is the one that lands in the record: "The dentist should discuss the recommended recall interval with the patient and record this interval, and the patient's agreement or disagreement with it, in the current record-keeping system."

Recommendation 1.1.3 lists what the dental team and patient should discuss when deciding. Nosht's suggestion is to make the note show that you did, in a line or two:

• the risk factors considered: oral hygiene, diet, fluoride use, tobacco and alcohol;
• the outcome of previous care episodes and whether the previous interval suited the patient;
• the patient's ability or wish to attend at the recommended interval;
• the recommended interval in months, the patient's agreement or disagreement, and that it will be reviewed at the next review.

Under 18s, and what the interval is not

NICE gives the reason for the 12-month ceiling for patients younger than 18: "There is evidence that the rate of progression of dental caries can be more rapid in children and adolescents than in older people", and "Periodic developmental assessment of the dentition is also required in children."

The guideline also says patients need to understand that, as is the case with the then-current 6-month recall regimen, "there is no guarantee that new disease will not develop between recall visits", and should be encouraged to seek advice from a dentist before their next scheduled review if there are significant changes in their risk factors.

Sources

• NICE CG19: Dental checks: intervals between oral health reviews (October 2004) (accessed 18 October 2026)