Oral Rehabilitation Participant Recruitment

Dental patients who had completed oral rehabilitation for replacement of missing natural teeth and were under review in the Centre for Dentistry, Queen’s University Belfast were informed about this study (via letter, poster or in person at clinic appointments) and invited to participate. Potential participants were screened for eligibility in two stages detailed below and shown in Figure 1.
Patient dental files were screened for stage 1 eligibility under the following criteria: partially dentate with missing teeth replaced with removable partial dentures or fixed prosthodontics to provide a functional dentition within the last 5 years at the Centre for Dentistry; 65+ years; independent; no clinically diagnosed dementia; no diabetes mellitus; no history of alcoholism; no active treatment for psychiatric disorders; no medical complication which contraindicated routine dental treatment (see Figure 1).
If eligibility was confirmed after stage 1, the research team provided patients with a Participant Information Sheet. If patients expressed interest in this study directly (i.e., following seeing the poster in the clinic), the researcher confirmed stage 1 eligibility criteria with the patient, sent out an information sheet, and then re-contacted them >48 h after receiving the information sheet to assess stage 2 eligibility criteria.
Stage 2 eligibility criteria were assessed via the telephone using the following key criteria (also Figure 1): not following a strict dietary regime recommended by a physician in the prevention or treatment of disease; could sufficiently recite their understanding of this study back to the researcher; ability to read the study information and keep a written food diary; ability to communicate in English; ability to take responsibility for any diet changes during the course of this study; ready to make healthy dietary changes; and found it important to make healthy dietary changes to their diet. If deemed eligible after stage 2 screening, those who were interested were given the opportunity to ask any questions/discuss the research in more detail and arrange the first study appointment. Or if patients preferred, the researcher contacted them again to confirm participation after a short period of time (if given permission to follow up). Written consent was obtained at the beginning of the first study visit.