Children's oral health-related knowledge, attitudes and beliefs as predictors of success in caries control during a 3.4-year randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine whether the baseline oral health-related knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of the participants in a randomized clinical trial (RCT) were associated with D₃MFS increment. Additionally, the aim was to study whether the association was mediated by the two baseline behaviors, i.e. brushing teeth and eating candies. Methods. Children in Pori, Finland (n = 493) aged 11–12 years, with active initial caries lesion(s) at baseline, were studied. The data were based on clinical examinations in 2001 and 2005 and on a questionnaire administered in 2001. Associations between success in caries control and baseline oral health-related knowledge, attitudes and the belief in keeping one's own teeth throughout life were evaluated using negative binomial regression analyses while considering the effects of the two baseline oral health behaviors. Results. The degree of concern about getting decay in one's own teeth was associated with caries increment. The less concerned the child was about new caries lesions, the more likely he/she was to develop new cavities. This association was not mediated by the two behaviors. Those children who did not know whether or not their mother had cavities were more likely to fail in caries control than were children who knew about their mother's cavities. Conclusions. It is important to determine child's level of concern about getting cavities because children who are concerned about developing cavities are likely to succeed in caries control while the opposite is true for those children who do not share this concern.

Key Words::

• behavioral science
• caries
• child
• prevention

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and the Finnish Dental Society Apollonia, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, the Finnish Association for Dentists in Health Center and the Finnish Association of Women Dentists. We thank the children and their parents, the oral health personnel and teachers in Pori, Finland, for their cooperation in this study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.