Post-Varnish Advice — ORE Part 1 MCQ
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Correct answer: A — Avoid eating or drinking for 30 minutes; avoid hard or crunchy foods for four hours; do not brush teeth until the following morning
UK dental guidance (SDCEP and NHS patient information) specifies: patients should not eat or drink for 30 minutes post-application to allow varnish to set; hard/crunchy foods should be avoided for 4 hours (to prevent mechanical removal); teeth should not be brushed that night to leave varnish in situ longer, with normal brushing resuming the next morning. Option A correctly combines all three key restrictions. Option C is wrong because immediate eating and early brushing both disrupt varnish adherence. Option E is overly restrictive—only eating/drinking is restricted, for 30 minutes. Option B is contraindicated; rinsing removes varnish and reduces effectiveness. Option D is dangerous; vigorous brushing immediately post-application removes the varnish film.
Reference: Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP). Prevention and Management of Dental Caries in Children: Fluoride varnish application guidance. https://www.childcaries.sdcep.org.uk/guidance/caries-prevention/professionally-delivered-interventions/fluoride-varnish/ (2024); Whittington NHS Trust. Fluoride varnish: Patient information and aftercare leaflet. https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/document.ashx?id=15470 (2024).