A Randomized Clinical Trial Preventive Outreach Targeting Dental Caries and Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life for Refugee Children

Abstract

Objective: The study assessed a preventive outreach educational intervention targeting improvements in dental caries and oral-health-related quality of life in the children of refugee families by comparing pre- and postintervention outcomes. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial assessed the outcomes at baseline and three times over six months using the WHO oral health assessment form (DMFT/dmft) and the parent version of the Michigan Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life scale. Children and at least one of their parents/caretakers were educated on oral health topics in two one-hour sessions. Results: Of the 66 enrolled families, 52 (72%) completed the six-month follow-up. DMFT/dmft scores increased significantly in both the control and intervention groups (p < 0.05); differences in the changes in the DMFT/dmft and MOHRQoL-P scores from baseline to the three- and six-month follow-up visits between groups were not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Oral health education programs targeting a diverse group of refugee children and their parents/caregivers single-handedly did not reduce the increased number of caries lesions or improve oral-health-related quality of life.

Efficacy and safety of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) pulpotomy for caries-exposed permanent teeth in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Two researchers screened and evaluated the full text of 20 articles, and finally 15 articles were included (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). As shown in Figure 3, all the included studies were within the triangle area, and no obvious bias was observed (Figure 3).…”

A scoping review linking early childhood caries to violence, neglect, internally displaced, migrant and refugee status

“…The dt was 2.54 ± 3.6, mt was 0.05 ± 0.3 and the ft was 0.03 ± 0.2. 16% had a pufa index greater zero Alrashdi et al (2021) [ 76 ] USA Multiple countries Randomised control trial 100 interventions and 100 controls 0–12 years Parents and children refugees The DMFT/dmft score increased from baseline to six months after educational intervention (0.28; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.50; p = 0.012) and did not differ significantly from those who sis not receive intervention (β = −0.23, 95% CI: (− 0.57, 0.11; p = 0.18) Bhusari et al (2020) [ 77 ] Multi-country Multiple countries Systematic review Varies by study Refugees Caries prevalence ranged between 50% and 100%. Prevalence was proportional to age, inversely associated with education and not significantly associated with gender and country of origin Werneck et al (2008) [ 78 ] Canada Multiple countries Case-control 52 ECC cases and 52 controls Refugees mean (SD) age = 32.4 (11) months The strongest predictors of ECC in this immigrant population were lack of dental care (AOR = 3.96, 95%CI: 1.34, 11.70) and lack of dental insurance (AOR = 4.87, 95%CI: 1.85, 12.82).…”

The effect of Augmented-Reality media-based health education on healthy lifestyle knowledge, attitude, and healthy lifestyle behaviors among pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic in Jakarta, Indonesia

“…Second, previous studies on health education that used experimental design and analyzed the impact of health education on knowledge, attitude, and behaviors also did not analyze the relationship between knowledge, attitude, and behavior. 41 , 46 , 47 …”