One of our objectives was to determine whether the MI approach given by the principal research assistant (TB) promoted positive changes in parental attitudes, beliefs, and risk-related behaviors about ECC. The second objective was to compare the reduced occurrence of ECC with the standard approach being delivered to parents. The current study suggests that a brief, one-time oral health educational intervention delivered by MI on oral health care practices can be effective in preventing the development of ECC. Overall, the incidence of caries in children aged between 18 and 24 months was 21.2% (control group 42.2%, intervention group 16%), with a mean dmft score of 0.65 ± 1.31. A brief one-time educational session provided by MI during well-child visits decreased caries prevalence and improved tooth brushing practices compared to usual care. Poor oral health practices did not differ except for bottle feeding between the intervention and control groups.
Given the fact that our study population was sampled from well-child outpatient clinics, the frequency of caries was lower than in other studies, as expected.17,19,32
Previous studies found MI effective in preventing ECC Weinstein and colleagues reported that at the end of 12 months of follow-up; the mean dmft scores of the intervention group and control group were 0.71 and 1.71, respectively.17 In another study, Harrison and colleagues reported that the MI group had about a 46% lower rate of dmfs at 2 years than did control children.19 Similarly, in our study, the mean dmft score and caries incidence in the intervention group were significantly lower compared to the usual care group.
All studies that provided education during early infancy with motivational intervention methods under the supervision of a trained healthcare provider and at least one phone reminder were effective in preventing EEC. Interventions reporting null results on ECC began later, at a mean age of 4.5 years. Ismail and colleagues reported an insignificant effect of MI; however, the children were older (with a mean age of 4.5 years) in their study at the time of intervention.25
Intervention during the perinatal period before the first tooth eruption is crucial for preventing ECC. This study used a brief, one-time motivational intervention followed by a phone reminder approach to prevent ECC by promoting healthy oral health practices. The intervention was provided at 6–12-month visits.
Consistent with the present study, low-income mothers were given face-to-face training on nutrition and oral hygiene for 20–30 minutes once, supported by phone reminders, and at the end of the four weeks, there was a significant increase in tooth brushing habits and a decrease in the use of common utensils.33 We found regular tooth brushing was significantly higher in children in the intervention arm (51.2%), compared to the control group (5.6%) at the end of 12 months of follow-up.
In a study that included 3375 children, consumption of non-water drinks with a bottle, going to sleep with a bottle at night, and using a drinker significantly increased the risk of caries development.34 In the current study, there was no significant difference between children with caries and those without caries regarding poor dental hygiene practices. This study did not provide any evidence of a significant difference in sugar consumption, bottle feeding, pacifier use, or nighttime breastfeeding between children with ECC compared to those who did not, but given the higher rates of tooth brushing in the intervention group, our study provides additional evidence that the practice of tooth brushing should be the most recommended oral health care measure.
It is recommended that MI fidelity be routinely reported in MI studies.35 However, very few dental MI studies reported MI fidelity.36
The moderate-certainty evidence suggested that providing advice on diet and feeding to pregnant women, mothers, or other caregivers with children up to the age of one year probably leads to a slightly reduced risk of ECC.37
The MI in the present study might have contributed to its effectiveness in reducing ECC. This study included caries-increment parental efficacy and children’s oral health behavior outcomes. This allowed for a complete evaluation and a possible mechanism of the intervention effect.
Given that tooth brushing practices were higher, and the child’s oral health status was better in the intervention group, we might suggest that a brief oral health education intervention delivered by MI during well-child visits can be considered a preventive strategy for ECC over anticipatory guidance.
Large, high-quality RCTs of oral health education/promotion, clinical, and policy and service access interventions, are warranted to determine the effects and relative effects of different interventions and inform practice. Future studies should consider the features of intervention and participant characteristics, as well as the measuring and reporting of ECC.
Limitations
A number of limitations should be taken into consideration while interpreting the findings of this study. The information on mothers’ oral health practices was obtained from maternal self-reports. This might have increased the chance of bias in some parent-reported outcomes. The study population was enrolled in a single well-child outpatient clinic; no radiographs were taken for caries diagnosis. This might have led to a certain degree of underestimation of the caries increment, particularly on proximal surfaces. This is a single blinded trial, in which the examiner was blinded. The high level of drop-out and resulting small sample size limit the generalizability of our results. The caries experience of the caregivers in the study was not measured and may have had an effect on the ECC.