The Impact of Anticipatory Guidance on Early Childhood Caries: a Quasi-experimental Study

The Impact of Anticipatory Guidance on Early Childhood Caries: a Quasi-experimental Study

This study aimed to compare the impact of anticipatory guidance on the caries incidence of 2-3-year-old preschool children and their 4-6-year-old siblings, as well as on their mothers' oral health literacy, as compared to the conventional Ministry of Health (MOH) programme.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted at two government dental clinics in Batu Pahat District, Malaysia. The samples comprised of 478 mother-child-sibling trios (233 families in the intervention group, and 245 families in the control group). An oral health package named the Family Dental Wellness Programme (FDWP) was designed to provide anticipatory guidance to the intervention group at six-month intervals over three years. The control group received the standard MOH oral health education activities. The impact of FDWP on net caries increment, caries prevented fraction, and mother's oral health literacy was assessed after three years of intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children between the age of 2-3 years old
• Older sibling aged 4 to 6 years categorized as having high caries risk based on a Caries Risk Assessment tool adapted from the American Association of Paediatric Dentistry
• Mothers who were willing to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medically compromised children