Effect of Educational Intervention in Mothers for Prevention of Caries in Their Children

Effect of Educational Intervention in Mothers for Prevention of Caries in Their Children, A Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of an educational intervention on mothers knowledge, attitudes and practices for preventing childhood caries.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dental Caries
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: oral health education; Behavioral: reminder phone call

Detailed Description

Health education is being used as a key preventive tool in the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, mental illness, neurological disturbances as well as dental diseases.

Amongst the dental diseases, dental caries is a high prevalence chronic childhood disease having long term growth and developmental implications . A number of educational programs have been utilized to decrease its prevalence especially in disadvantaged communities.

Dental caries is a complex interplay of a number of risk factors such as demographic (socioeconomic status, race, etc.) behavioral, dietary and cultural factors. Among the dietary intake, the most significant risk factor has been a high frequency intake of sugary foods and drinks.Patterns of sugar intake are established early in life and sugar intake increases in the first two years of life.

Early feeding practices and lack of oral hygiene maintenance have been identified as risk factors for caries in subsequent years. Maternal education can prove to be protective against dental caries by way of child's dietary practices.

Research has also indicated a reduction in prevalence of caries in children whose parents were previously participants of an oral health educational program.

Educating mothers about oral hygiene and feeding practices before the child transitions from exclusive milk diet to a variety of foods in an important time to exert a positive influence on dietary intake of child and overall oral health.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 126
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Punjab
    • Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
      • Children Hospital and Institute of Child Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 9 months to 1 year (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Mothers of 9-15 months old attending the vaccination clinic who consented to be a part of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Mothers with severely ill children or children suffering from a co-morbid disease.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: pamphlet and reminder; pictorial oral health pamphlet comprising of instructions on child's oral hygiene and feeding practices and a oral health education reminder phone call after a period of one month.	Behavioral: oral health education; oral health education in the form of a pictorial pamphlet.; Behavioral: reminder phone call; a reminder phone call on oral health instructions would be given to mothers after every one month over a period of three months.
Other: pamphlet only; oral health education pictorial pamphlet would be provided to mothers however there will be no reminder phone calls.	Behavioral: oral health education; oral health education in the form of a pictorial pamphlet.
No Intervention: control; no oral health education or reminder phone calls will be provided to mothers.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
improvement in child's oral hygiene	Increase in the frequency of tooth brushing, use of a proper oral hygiene aid would indicate an improvement in the child's oral hygiene as reported by the mother after a three month follow up period.	3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
reduction in sugar intake	A reduction in child's sugar intake would be assessed through the followup structured questionnaire as reduced frequency of sugary snacking and a reduction in night time feeding practices.	3 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Improvement in Mothers knowledge and attitudes regarding their child's oral health	An improvement in mother's knowledge and attitudes regarding their child's oral health would be assessed through the part of the questionnaire comprising of questions on fluoride, importance of milk teeth, prevention of caries etc	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of the Punjab
• Collaborators: Sheikh Zayed Federal Postgraduate Medical Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Fatima Ishfaq, BDS, Sheikh Zayed Federal Postgraduate Medical Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 6, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 6, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): January 8, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): January 8, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 6, 2013
• Last Verified: January 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Stomatognathic Diseases; Tooth Demineralization; Tooth Diseases; Dental Caries
• Other Study ID Numbers: fatima ishfaq