Impact of Early Caries Intervention on Dental Treatment in Indigenous Australian Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE

The study investigated the effects of an early childhood caries (ECC) intervention on the need for dental treatment in Indigenous Australian Children. We hypothesized that exposure to an early intervention program would reduce the need for dental treatment among Indigenous children.

METHODS

This randomized controlled trial allocated 448 pregnant women with an Aboriginal child to either an immediate intervention (II) or a delayed intervention (DI) group between January 2011 and May 2012. There were 4 components to the ECC intervention: 1) dental care during pregnancy, 2) anticipatory guidance, 3) motivational interviewing for mothers, and 4) fluoride varnish application for children. The outcome was having dental treatment over 5 years. Bivariate log-Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the strength of the ECC intervention in reducing dental treatment by using imputed data.

RESULTS

Data were available for 181 in II and 186 in DI children aged 5 years. Children in the DI group had twice the prevalence (PR = 2.00; 95% CI: 1.13-3.51) of having dental treatment compared to the II group. A higher prevalence of having dental treatment was positively associated with families residing in nonmetropolitan areas, children with higher sweet food consumption and mothers with lower oral health literacy.

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests that early intervention in infancy can decrease the need for dental treatment by age 5 years, potentially reducing the burden for children, families, and Aboriginal communities.