Tobacco use prevention (TUC) guidelines are mostly designed for undergraduate education. Most practising dental professionals have not been trained in TUC and so current and future guidelines need to be adapted for continuing education. It is important to motivate dental professionals to be involved in TUC. 'The 3 Ts' is one suggested method of stimulating this motivation. Two levels of TUC are recommended, and both brief advice and enhanced interventions can be incorporated into routine practice. It is recommended that TUC continuing education on these interventions should be provided by a team of dental and trans- disciplinary experts. The maintenance of TUC involvement can be divided in individual and collective strategies. The international dental professional organisations can provide important 'benchmarks' for minimum clinical standards and for the involvement of both national dental organisations and individual dental health professionals in TUC continuing education.