CATCH Healthy Smiles:An Elementary School Oral Health Intervention Trial

July 2, 2025 updated by: Shreela V Sharma, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

CATCH Healthy Smiles: A Cluster-RCT of an Elementary School Oral Health Intervention

The purpose of this study is to clinically evaluate the effects of a school-based behavioral intervention, CATCH Healthy Smiles, to reduce the risk of dental caries in a cohort of kindergarten through 2nd grade (K-2) children serving low-income, ethnically-diverse children,to determine the impact of CATCH Healthy Smiles on child behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental outcomes beginning in K through 2nd grade, compared to children in the control schools and to examine the extent to which the child behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental factors mediate the improvements in child caries risk.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
1084

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 9 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

For schools:

  • greater than 75% of the children enrolled in the dree/reduced school lunch program.
  • enrolling children in grade K in the 2021-2022 school year.
  • agree to implement the CATCH Healthy Smiles program and agreed to participate in the measurements

For parent and child to participate in the measures:

  • ability of the parent to speak and read in English or Spanish at the 4th grade level,
  • child enrolled in the participating school in grade K in the 2021-2022 school year
  • child ability to participate in the regular activities at the school

Exclusion Criteria:

-No congenital dental conditions such as cleft palate, children with enamel hypoplasia, severe fluorosis, or special dental setting needs.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Comparison School Group
Behavioral: Comparison School Group
All control schools will receive training and materials for the CATCH sun safety curriculum. Ray and the Sunbeatables®: A Sun Safety Curriculum is an evidence-based curriculum educates children, parents and teachers about sun protection and promotes sun safety behaviors in an effort to reduce children's lifetime risk of developing skin cancer. Training will be conducted with booster trainings yearly.
Experimental: Intervention School Group
Behavioral: Intervention School Group
This intervention includes toothbrushing which will be implemented as a daily activity to develop skills and technique,classroom curriculum, which includes theory-based interactive lessons on oral health care,the physical education component consisting of an activity box containing different structured physical activities that will integrate the nutrition and oral health education messages, all cafeteria-based intervention materials including the "tooth friendly" Eat Smart guide, signage, nutrition labeling, menu planning and labeling using the tooth-friendly Go-Slow-Whoa CATCH terminology will be provided to the food service staff that is displayed across the cafeteria and sent home to parents and parents will be provided with tools and tips for maintaining oral health with website resources,parent-child homework activities, send-home infographics on dental care, parent-monitored tracking of child oral health,family fun nights in schools, and social media.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Number of tooth and tooth surfaces that became decayed or were treated for dental caries (by filling or extraction)
Time Frame: Baseline(beginning of kindergarten)
Baseline(beginning of kindergarten)
Number of tooth and tooth surfaces that became decayed or were treated for dental caries (by filling or extraction)
Time Frame: end of year 1(Kindergarten)
end of year 1(Kindergarten)
Number of tooth and tooth surfaces that became decayed or were treated for dental caries (by filling or extraction)
Time Frame: end of year 2(first grade)
end of year 2(first grade)
number of tooth and tooth surfaces that became decayed or were treated for dental caries (by filling or extraction)
Time Frame: end of year 3( second grade)
end of year 3( second grade)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of children with good oral hygiene as measured by the child plaque index
Time Frame: Baseline
The plaque score will be measured using the plaque index of Silness and Loe. Six teeth will be examined for presence of plaque/ materia alba and food remnants and calculus. The index will be a numerical score (0-3) as follows: 0 = No Debris or stain; 1 = Soft debris or stain covering no more than 1/3 of tooth surface; 2 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 1/3 of tooth surface and less than 2/3 of tooth surface; 3 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 2/3 of tooth surface.
Baseline
Number of children with good oral hygiene as measured by the child plaque index
Time Frame: end of year 1 about 9 months form start of intervention
The plaque score will be measured using the plaque index of Silness and Loe. Six teeth will be examined for presence of plaque/ materia alba and food remnants and calculus. The index will be a numerical score (0-3) as follows: 0 = No Debris or stain; 1 = Soft debris or stain covering no more than 1/3 of tooth surface; 2 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 1/3 of tooth surface and less than 2/3 of tooth surface; 3 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 2/3 of tooth surface.
end of year 1 about 9 months form start of intervention
Number of children with good oral hygiene as measured by the child plaque index
Time Frame: end of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
The plaque score will be measured using the plaque index of Silness and Loe. Six teeth will be examined for presence of plaque/ materia alba and food remnants and calculus. The index will be a numerical score (0-3) as follows: 0 = No Debris or stain; 1 = Soft debris or stain covering no more than 1/3 of tooth surface; 2 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 1/3 of tooth surface and less than 2/3 of tooth surface; 3 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 2/3 of tooth surface.
end of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
Number of children with good oral hygiene as measured by the child plaque index
Time Frame: end of year 3 about 33 months form start of intervention
The plaque score will be measured using the plaque index of Silness and Loe. Six teeth will be examined for presence of plaque/ materia alba and food remnants and calculus. The index will be a numerical score (0-3) as follows: 0 = No Debris or stain; 1 = Soft debris or stain covering no more than 1/3 of tooth surface; 2 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 1/3 of tooth surface and less than 2/3 of tooth surface; 3 = Soft debris or stain covering more than 2/3 of tooth surface.
end of year 3 about 33 months form start of intervention
Child dietary intake as measured by the Block food frequency screener
Time Frame: Baseline
This tools helps to find out how many times a week different kinds of food was consumed and how much quantity of food was consumed each day
Baseline
Child dietary intake as measured by the Block food frequency screener
Time Frame: end of year 1
This tools helps to find out how many times a week different kinds of food was consumed and how much quantity of food was consumed each day
end of year 1
Child dietary intake as measured by the Block food frequency screener
Time Frame: end of year 2
This tools helps to find out how many times a week different kinds of food was consumed and how much quantity of food was consumed each day
end of year 2
Child dietary intake as measured by the Block food frequency screener
Time Frame: end of year 3
This tools helps to find out how many times a week different kinds of food was consumed and how much quantity of food was consumed each day
end of year 3
Child and parent behavioral, psychosocial and environmental factors will be measured using self-report surveys
Time Frame: Baseline
Baseline
Child and parent behavioral, psychosocial and environmental factors will be measured using self-report surveys
Time Frame: end of year 1 about 9 months from start of intervention
end of year 1 about 9 months from start of intervention
Child and parent behavioral, psychosocial and environmental factors will be measured using self-report surveys
Time Frame: End of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
End of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
Child and parent behavioral, psychosocial and environmental factors will be measured using self-report surveys
Time Frame: End of year 3 about 33 months from start of intervention
End of year 3 about 33 months from start of intervention
Number of times a child brushes their teeth a day
Time Frame: Baseline
Baseline
Number of times a child brushes their teeth a day
Time Frame: end of year 1 about 9 months from start of intervention
end of year 1 about 9 months from start of intervention
Number of times a child brushes their teeth a day
Time Frame: End of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
End of year 2 about 23 months from start of intervention
Number of times a child brushes their teeth a day
Time Frame: End of year 3 about 33 months from start of intervention
End of year 3 about 33 months from start of intervention
Change in Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: baseline, end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3
Child height and weight measured at the school using stadiometers and digital scales respectively.
baseline, end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3
Change in Child Oral health quality of life measured using parent self-report surveys
Time Frame: baseline, end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3
baseline, end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3
Frequency of flossing teeth for the child measured using parent self-report surveys
Time Frame: Baseline
Baseline
Frequency of flossing teeth for the child measured using parent self-report surveys
Time Frame: end of year 1
end of year 1
Frequency of flossing teeth for the child measured using parent self-report surveys
Time Frame: end of year 2
end of year 2
Frequency of flossing teeth for the child measured using parent self-report surveys
Time Frame: end of year 3
end of year 3

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Shreela Sharma, PhD, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 5, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 30, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 12, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 16, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 8, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 2, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HSC-SPH-19-0838

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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