BackgroundEarly childhood caries is the most common chronic childhood disease worldwide. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice more likely to develop dental decay, and contributing factors include poor maternal oral health and underutilisation of dental services. Globally, Indigenous health workers are in a unique position to deliver culturally competent oral healthcare because they have a contextual understanding of the needs of the community.MethodsThis scoping review aimed to identify the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health globally. A systematic search was undertaken of six electronic databases for relevant published literature and grey literature, and expanded to include non-dental health professionals and other Indigenous populations across the lifespan when limited studies were identified.ResultsTwenty-two papers met the inclusion criteria, focussing on the role of Indigenous health workers in maternal oral healthcare, types of oral health training programs and screening tools to evaluate program effectiveness. There was a paucity of peer-reviewed evidence on the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health, with most studies focusing on other non-dental health professionals. Nevertheless, there were reports of Indigenous health workers supporting oral health in early childhood. Although some oral health screening tools and training programs were identified for non-dental health professionals during the antenatal period, no specific screening tool has been developed for use by Indigenous health workers.ConclusionsWhile the role of health workers from Indigenous communities in promoting maternal oral health is yet to be clearly defined, they have the potential to play a crucial role in ‘driving’ screening and education of maternal oral health especially when there is adequate organisational support, warranting further research.

This study highlighted the need for research and strategies that focus on capacity building care staff in oral health care and improving access of aged care residents to dental services.

Issue addressed All pregnant women should have a comprehensive oral health evaluation. Unfortunately, many pregnant women seldom seek dental care and some dentists are hesitant to treat during pregnancy. To address these issues, the Midwifery Initiated Oral Health Dental Service (MIOH‐DS) program was developed in Australia. The aim of this study was to undertake a process evaluation and explore the perceptions of dental professionals involved in the program to determine the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of the program if it were to be upscaled. Methods A qualitative approach using content analysis was conducted on data from two focus groups involving 12 dental professionals. Results All participants were supportive of the MIOH‐DS program. They thought pregnant women were receptive to their care, and reported markedly improved oral health. The provision of free dental care and the involvement of midwives were cited as major factors that improved the uptake of the program. Some of the challenges encountered were the prevailing misconceptions about the safety of dental treatment and pregnancy‐related impairments. Conclusions Dental professionals found the MIOH‐DS to be acceptable, feasible and effective in improving oral health of pregnant women and their uptake of dental services. However, some challenges need to be addressed as the MIOH‐DS program is upscaled into a cost‐effective model. So what? Dental professionals are important stakeholders in the MIOH‐DS model. The process evaluation of the successful dental intervention is necessary to understand how and why such interventions work, and is an important step in scaling up to a population‐wide intervention.