Motivating mothers to prevent caries

Weinstein, Philip; Harrison, Rosamund; Benton, Tonya

doi:10.14219/jada.archive.2006.0291

Cited by 180 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…An intervention will be considered to have a clinically significant effect if it reduces this rate to 20% in a year. Such a magnitude of effect size (relative risk of 0.57) was also reported by a previous MI trial in infants [15]. In order to detect such a reduction at a significance level of 5% and a statistical power of 80%, 184 parent-child dyads per group will be needed (multiple comparisons considered).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Unlike previous dental MI studies targeting infants whose oral health is predominantly taken care of by their parents [15,21,22], this study focuses on preschoolers who are at a stage of forming their own health habits [12]. While the impact of early intervention (from infancy or even prenatal) is supported by sizeable scientific evidence [15,21,33,34], preschool age represents another window for behavioral intervention, because children’s food preference is being shaped [35], their toothbrushing habits are being reinforced [4], and parents are often receptive to health messages during this period of time [9,36]. Interventions in this age group are both promising and challenging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To maintain the behavioral change and avoid relapse, each parent will be telephoned three more times up to 6 months after the initial contact [15]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, what appears to be a convincing line of reasoning to the dental professional falls on deaf ears or result in reluctance to change [14]. The fruitless efforts of CE have led initially enthusiastic dental professionals to a state of burnout and created skepticism toward such attempts [14,15]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MI did not emerge in dental research until recent years. In a South Asian immigrant community in Canada, a dental MI intervention that focused on modifying mothers’ infant-rearing practices was found to be effective in reducing the caries increment in infants (6 to 18 months of age) over 2 years (hazard ratio = 0.54, 95% confidence interval = 0.35 to 0.84) [15,21]. Nevertheless, in a recent study among low-income African Americans, MI with caregivers showed no significant effect on children’s dietary habits and caries increment; only marginal improvement was seen in their oral hygiene measures which, however, declined over 2 years [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Innovative interventions to promote positive dental health behaviors and prevent dental caries in preschool children: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Gao

McGrath

et al. 2013

Trials

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BackgroundDental caries (tooth decay) is highly prevalent and is largely attributable to unhealthy self-care behaviors (diet and oral hygiene). The conventional (health) education (CE), focusing on disseminating information and giving normative advice, often fails to achieve sustained behavioral changes. This study incorporates two innovative elements into CE: (i) motivational interviewing (MI), a client-centered counseling for changing behaviors, and (ii) an interactive caries risk assessment (RA) tool, which is devised to facilitate dental counseling and may enhance MI in several ways. Through a randomized, controlled, evaluator-blinded trial, three intervention schemes (CE, CE + MI, and CE + MI + RA) will be compared for their effectiveness in eliciting dentally healthy behaviors and preventing caries in preschool children.Methods/DesignThis study targets 3-year-old children who are at a critical stage for embedding health habits. Children with unfavorable dental behaviors (insufficient toothbrushing and/or frequent snacking) and their parents will be recruited from 12 participating kindergartens. Parent-child dyads (n = 690) will be randomly assigned into three groups. In the first group (CE), oral health information and advice will be delivered to parents through pamphlets. In the second group (CE + MI), in addition to the pamphlets, individual MI counseling with each parent will be performed by one of two trained dental hygienists. In the third group (CE + MI + RA), besides pamphlets and MI, interactive RA will be integrated into MI to motivate parents and facilitate their informed decision making and goal planning. At baseline and after 12 and 24 months, parents will complete a questionnaire and children will undergo a dental examination. The effectiveness of the intervention schemes will be compared over 12 and 24 months. The primary outcome will be caries increment in children and proportion of caries-free children. Secondary outcomes will be changes in parental efficacy for protecting children’s oral health and changes in children’s dental behaviors.DiscussionMotivating and empowering parents to cultivate dentally healthy habits of young children presents both promises and challenges. With careful methodological considerations, this study is expected to provide scientific evidence for public health workers, dentists, and dental auxiliaries (nurses and hygienists) to choose appropriate interventions to advance children’s oral health.Trial registrationHKCTR-1455

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To maintain the behavioral change and avoid relapse, each parent will be telephoned three more times up to 6 months after the initial contact [15]. …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%