Alcohol consumption
Alcohol consumption intervention (Identification and Brief Advice)
The flowchart below presents an alcohol identification and brief advice pathway (IBA) that can be used with dental patients to identify their alcohol health risks and to help tailor advice. The IBA pathway has three main stages: asking all patients about alcohol use as part of their medical history (using the AUDIT-C screening tool), and advising and acting based on the patient’s AUDIT-C score.
Units of alcohol in common drinks
Alcohol unit reference (1 unit = 10 ml pure alcohol):
More information and an alcohol unit calculator are available on the Drink Aware website.
Ask
How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?
| Response | Score |
| Never | 0 |
| Monthly or less | 1 |
| 2-4 times per month | 2 |
| 2-3 times per week | 3 |
| 4+ times per week | 4 |
How many units do you drink on a typical day when you are drinking?
| Response | Score |
| 0-2 units | 0 |
| 3-4 units | 1 |
| 5-6 units | 2 |
| 7-9 units | 3 |
| 10+ units | 4 |
How often have you had 6 or more units (female patient)/8 or more units (male patient) on a single occasion in the last year?
| Response | Score |
| Never | 0 |
| Less then monthly | 1 |
| Monthly | 2 |
| Weekly | 3 |
| Daily or almost daily | 4 |
Advise and Act
Add the scores together to review the drinking level below:
| Score | Risk |
| 0-4 | Lower risk |
| 5-10 | Increasing or higher risk |
| 11 or 12 | Possible dependence |
Lower risk
- Advise the patient that their current drinking level does not pose significant risk to their health
- Encourage the patient to keep their drinking at lower levels
Increasing or higher risk
- Explain to the patient that their score indicates their drinking behaviour could be affecting their health
- Discuss ways of making small changes to reduce their risk and give an information leaflet
Possible dependence
- Explain to the patient that their score indicates they may be drinking problematically
- Give an information leaflet
- Encourage the patient to speak to their GP or a specialist alcohol treatment service (e.g. Drinkline 0800 7 314 314; calls are free; webchat function also available)
Alcohol unit reference
(1 unit = 10 ml pure alcohol)
One unit of alcohol:
- Half a small glass of wine (87.5 ml)
- Half a pint of beer, lager or cider
- One measure of spirits (25 ml)
More than one unit of alcohol:
- Small (175 ml) glass of wine = 2.2 units
- Large (250 ml) glass of wine = 3.1 units
- Pint of beer, lager or cider = 2.2 units
- Bottle (330 ml) of beer, lager or cider = 1.7 units
More information and an alcohol unit calculator are available on the Drink Aware website.
Further guidance on alcohol in relation to oral health can be found in Delivering Better Oral Health, which includes additional information about the IBA pathway.
Additional resources for health professionals, including further information about screening tools can be found on the Public Health Scotland website.
Public Health Scotland also provide an information leaflet for patients, which includes additional information about units and advice on reducing alcohol intake.