Young people's and adults' views and experiences of decision‐making to manage compromised first permanent molars: a qualitative study

Background Little information on young people's and adults' views and experiences on decision‐making for managing compromised first permanent molars (cFPM) exists. Aim To establish young people's and adults' views and experiences of decision‐making for managing cFPM. Design Face‐to‐face (online) semi‐structured interviews were undertaken using an iteratively designed topic guide. Participants aged 12–65 were purposively sampled with recruitment from different dental clinics (three primary care, an out‐of‐hours emergency and one dental hospital). Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three themes were generated from young people's interviews (n = 9): (i) influencing factors; (ii) long‐term considerations; and (iii) shared decision‐making. Three themes were generated from adults' interviews (n = 13): (i) influences that affect decisions; (ii) perceptions of the specialist's role; and (iii) importance of shared decision‐making for children and young people. Conclusion Several factors influenced decision‐making; for young people, professional opinions were important, and parental/peer influences less so. For adults, it was based on decisions on their prior experiences. Adults felt young people were abnormal if referred to a specialist. Young people wanted autonomy in decision‐making to be respected; in reality, their views were rarely heard. There is potential to increase young people's involvement in shared decision‐making for cFPM, which aligns with their aspirations.