The goal of this two-arm, parallel-group cluster randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of the mother-child initiated oral health care program, termed BASIS, in preventing early childhood caries (ECC).
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- To compare mean knowledge and attitudes scores in the prevention of ECC among mothers of toddlers in the study group before and after receiving the BASIS program.
- To compare mean knowledge and attitude scores in the prevention of ECC between mothers of toddlers in the study group after receiving the BASIS program and mothers of toddlers in the control group after receiving the current Ministry of Health (MOH) programs.
- To compare oral health care practices in the prevention of ECC between mothers in the study group after receiving the BASIS program and mothers in the control group after receiving the current MOH program.
- To compare caries incidence between toddlers in the study group and toddlers in the control group after mothers' exposure to the BASIS program and the current MOH program, respectively.
Researchers will compare the BASIS program to the MOH program to see if the BASIS is effective to prevent ECC.
Participants of the BASIS program:
- Received anticipatory guidance delivered during pregnancy and after given birth at 6 months and 12 months
- Complete self-administered questionnaires measuring the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to the prevention of ECC during pregnancy and after given birth at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months
- Have their child oral cavity clinically examined at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months