Effectiveness of motivational interviewing at improving oral health: a systematic review

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo analyze the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) at improving oral health behaviors (oral hygiene habits, sugar consumption, dental services utilization or use of fluoride) and dental clinical outcomes (dental plaque, dental caries and periodontal status).METHODSA systematic search of PubMed, LILACS, SciELO, PsyINFO, Cochrane and Google Scholar bibliographic databases was conducted looking for intervention studies that investigated MI as the main approach to improving the oral health outcomes investigated.RESULTSOf the 78 articles found, ten met the inclusion criteria, all based on randomized controlled trials. Most studies (n = 8) assessed multiple outcomes. Five interventions assessed the impact of MI on oral health behaviors and nine on clinical outcomes (three on dental caries, six on dental plaque, four on gingivitis and three on periodontal pockets). Better quality of evidence was provided by studies that investigated dental caries, which also had the largest population samples. The evidence of the effect of MI on improving oral health outcomes is conflicting. Four studies reported positive effects of MI on oral health outcomes whereas another four showed null effect. In two interventions, the actual difference between groups was not reported or able to be recalculated.CONCLUSIONSWe found inconclusive effectiveness for most oral health outcomes. We need more and better designed and reported interventions to fully assess the impact of MI on oral health and understand the appropriate dosage for the counseling interventions.

Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing Training for Primary Care Dentists and Dental Health Technicians: Results from a Community Clinical Trial

“…The use of MI is especially interesting for health professionals who treat people who need to increase adherence to a treatment plan or change inappropriate habits or unhealthy behaviors. 7,8 However, the poor methodological quality of the studies limits more conclusive indings. However, many dental professionals still use traditional prescriptive counseling and information approaches, disregarding the social determinants of oral diseases.…”

Comparison of Oral Health Education and Fluoride Varnish to Prevent Early Childhood Caries: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…Approaches to achieving oral health involve 3 factors: individual, family, and community [Fisher-Owens et al, 2007]. There is some controversy regarding the positive effect of oral health instructions in reducing dental caries or periodontal diseases [Cascaes et al, 2014]. Caregivers or mothers of young children who are responsible for the child's gen- eral health should also provide oral health care.…”

“…The differences may be attributed to regular education and motivational counseling of mothers during the period when children experience eruption of their primary teeth, in addition to differences in sample size and study design. Further research on oral health education and counseling interventions is recommended [Cascaes et al, 2014;Habbu and Krishnappa, 2015].…”

Motivational Interviewing and Oral Heath: what the evidence says.

“…In 2014, Cascaes et al 3 published another literature review that included the nine of the sixteen studies from the review by Gao et al and one new article. All the studies were conducted in high-income countries in North America and Europe.…”