Parental-oriented educational mobile messages to aid in the control of early childhood caries in low socioeconomic children: A randomized controlled trial
Parental-oriented educational mobile messages to aid in the control of early childhood caries in low socioeconomic children: A randomized controlled trial
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DOI:
10.1016/j.jdent.2020.103456
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发表时间:
2020-10-01
影响因子:
4.4
通讯作者:
Cruvinel, Thiago
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
Lotto, Matheus;Strieder, Anna Paola;Cruvinel, Thiago
Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational messages as an aid in the control of early childhood caries (ECC) in low socioeconomic children.Methods: A single-blinded, randomized, and parallel-group study was conducted with 104 dyads of parents and children aged between 36-60 months, recruited in preschools from Baum, Brazil. The participants were randomly allocated into control and intervention groups (1:1), stratified by parental eHealth literacy scores (eHEALS) and children's caries experience. Every 2 weeks, text messages were sent to parents of intervention group via WhatsApp. Visible plaque index (VPI) and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) were assessed at baseline, 3- and 6-month follow-ups, while eHEALS and dietary habits were determined at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed to intra and intergroup comparisons through Fischer's exact and McNemar tests, and Mann-Whitney U and Friedman tests, respectively (P < 0.05).Results: Despite similarities between groups, intervention increased parental eHEALS scores, influencing the reports about the children's consumption of sugar-free sweets and controlling the severity of ECC.Conclusion: Therefore, mobile text messages were effective to control the severity of ECC in low socioeconomic preschoolers, improving parental eHealth literacy and changing children's dietary patterns.Clinical significance: These findings demonstrate that parental-oriented WhatsApp messages can contribute to oral health education of socioeconomic vulnerable parents towards risk behavior changes to control ECC.