GUM drives behavioural change: Free new course equips dental professionals to turn advice into patient action
25 November 2025
- Oral health professionals face a significant challenge – ensuring consistent patient compliance with oral hygiene recommendations
- Developed with international experts the course provides specific behavioral change techniques
- Five 25-minute online modules to transform patient compliance and outcomes
GUM®, an oral care brand of Sunstar, has launched a free online course for oral health professionals seeking to improve patient compliance.
Comprising five 25-minute modules, the practical training program is designed to equip oral health professionals with the skills and knowledge to foster better patient compliance and apply evidence-based behavioural change models chairside.
The course, ‘Patient Compliance in Oral Care: A Hands-on Course in Behavioural Change’ features insights from leading international experts, including Prof. Tim Newton, Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry at King’s College London.
Further experts who contributed their proven evidence-based insights to the course include Sandra Lod Dimenäs, a dental hygienist from Gothenburg University, Sweden, whose PhD research assessed behavioural change interventions from the perspective of both patients and oral health professionals.
The free course is now available to dental professionals seeking to transform patient outcomes through practical behavioural change techniques, comprehend the challenges behind patient behaviour, and master established behavioural change strategies to enhance patient engagement and motivation, ultimately resulting in improved oral health.
After completing the course, dental professionals will have a deep understanding of behavioural change theory, while also having practised real-world interventions using hands-on exercises and role playing, aimed at mastering shared decision-making to empower patients to take control of their own oral health journey.
Aiming to equip dental practitioners with a complete set of tools to address the persistent challenge of patient compliance in oral care, the engaging bite-sized modules demonstrate how small behavioural changes can lead to significant and lasting improvements in both oral and systemic health.
To extend course learning, GUM has also launched a LinkedIn behavioural change community group so like-minded dental professionals can connect, exchange further ideas and ask questions to its experts.
Prof. Tim Newton comments: “One of the most important things we can do as healthcare professionals is to support our patients and the public, to take control of their health. We do this coaching them in the skills they will need. It’s not always easy to do. We have developed this resource to support oral health professionals in that task.”
Prof. Tim Newton, professor of psychology as applied to dentistry at King’s College London.
Martijn Verhulst, Medical Liaison Manager, Sunstar Global, adds: “Traditionally, Sunstar and GUM® have been strong supporters of oral health professionals, and this program will help them tackle their arguably most prominent pain point: patient compliance. We hope this course will be the start of a community of engaged oral health professionals, driving positive behavioural change globally.”
Dental professionals can enrol onto the free GUM course by visiting: https://professional.sunstargum.com/en-en/learning/training-materials/patient-compliance-in-oral-care.html