Childhood Caries In Preschool Children Research Articles

Integrated Health Solutions: Addressing the Co-occurrence of Otitis Media With Effusion and Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children.

Introduction: Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common middle ear condition, which frequently affects children and can lead to hearing impairment, speech delays, and developmental issues. Early childhood caries (ECC) is another prevalent pediatric condition defined by the presence of decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in children under six years old. Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of OME and ECC, the association between these two conditions, and the risk and severity of ECC among preschool children with OME. Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a single tertiary center. A total of 206 preschool children aged six and below with hearing impairment or speech delay were recruited. They were grouped as follows: with OME (n= 129) and without OME (n = 77). Demographic and socioeconomic data were obtained, followed by otoscopy, anterior rhinoscopy, and tympanometric assessment. The subjects were further stratified into having ECC or not by conducting a dental examination for caries detection, whose findings were documented using Dental Charting and Caries Risk Assessment (CRA). Tympanometric width (TW) was also analyzed to measure its association with tympanic membrane appearance. Results: 51.5% (n=106) of children with OME were found to have ECC. They predominantly had mild ECC (49.1%), and most (51%) were at moderate risk for caries based on the CRA (P < 0.001). A significant association between OME and ECC was observed (p < 0.001). Tympanometry results documented a strong correlation between TW greater than 200 daPa and abnormal tympanic membrane findings in OME (P< 0.001). Conclusions: The association between OME and ECC in preschool children necessitates integrated healthcare approaches for early detection and management. Reliable diagnostic tools, such as tympanic width measurement for OME and CRA for ECC, are crucial in addressing these health issues. Early intervention and comprehensive care can mitigate the risks and improve health outcomes for affected children.

PARENTAL EDUCATION, CARIES EXPERIENCE, PLAQUE ACCUMULATION, AND Mutans Streptococci COUNT MAY PREDICT THE INCREMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN OVER 24 MONTHS

RISK PREDICTORS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES INCREMENT-A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. Lam PPY, Chua H, Ekambaram M, Lo ECM, Yiu CKY. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2022 Sep;22(3):101732. Government TYPE OF STUDY/DESIGN: Systematic review with meta-analysis of data.

Early childhood caries: parents’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards its prevention in refugee camps in Erbil, Iraq

BackgroundEarly childhood caries is a significant oral health issue in socially deprived communities, including refugees, where prevention plays a crucial role in minimizing the challenges and costs associated with treating early childhood caries. To improve oral health outcomes, it is important to understand parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices. This study aims to assess the oral health knowledge, practices, and attitudes of refugee parents.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 503 parents/caregivers residing in Erbil’s refugee camps in Iraq, with healthy preschool children aged one to six years. Structured questionnaire was utilized in conducting individual interviews with parents to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The questionnaire collected demographic information and data on access to oral health services.ResultsA total of 503 out of 505 households actively participated in the study, resulting in a high response rate of 99.6%. Demographic analysis revealed that the majority of respondents were female parents, constituting 92.05% of the sample. Within the participant pool, the primary age groups were 26–35 years (55.3%) and 18–25 years (26.2%). Educational background analysis revealed that a significant proportion of parents had attained a secondary school education (29.6%) or primary school education (27.4%). Statistical analysis further established a noteworthy association between educational background and knowledge level. The investigation of participants’ knowledge uncovered notable gaps and misconceptions pertaining to early childhood caries, with an overall mean score of 5.1. Assessing the overall attitude of parents, a mean score of 3.87 (SD = 1.29) suggested a generally unfavorable attitude towards oral hygiene practices and prevention of early childhood caries. In terms of actual practices, parents demonstrated a mean practice score of 5.7.ConclusionsThis study emphasizes knowledge gaps and misconceptions among parents in refugee camps regarding early childhood caries in preschool children. Findings revealed low knowledge scores, limited understanding of hidden sugars, delayed oral hygiene practices, and limited knowledge about fluoride.

Infant Dietary Pattern and its Association with Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children: A Cross-sectional Study.

This study aimed to investigate the associations between feeding and oral hygiene practices during the first year of life and caries prevalence in preschool children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 children between the age-group of 3-5 years in Navi Mumbai, India. Dental caries experience was recorded using WHO criteria. A validated questionnaire with 34 questions was used for collecting information regarding feeding and oral hygiene practices. The data collected were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Chi-square test. Caries prevalence was high and statistically significant (p < 0.05) among those who were breastfed, fell asleep with a bottle in the mouth, fed with additional sugar in bottled milk, those who had a frequent sweet intake, and where infant's teeth were not cleaned soon after eruption. Determining the role of feeding practices on early childhood caries and intervention during early childhood seems to be the most appropriate action to ensure healthy dental habits throughout life. A future direction for dentists to target preventive interventions in early childhood and incorporate cariogenicity of frequent infant feeding into sound recommendations for parents and caregivers. Khodke S, Naik S, Agarwal N. Infant Dietary Pattern and its Association with Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(3):421-425.

The Relationship Between Formula Feeding Patterns and Early Childhood Caries In Preschool Children In Ketileng Village, Todanan Blora

Caries that affects children under 72 months of age is called Early Childhood Caries (ECC). The high caries prevalence rate which reaches 81.5% in children aged 3-4 years is still a problem for Indonesia. One of the reasons for the high incidence of caries in preschoolers is the inappropriate pattern of breastfeeding or formula feeding. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between patterns of formula feeding and ECC in preschool children in Ketileng Village, Todanan, Blora. This study used an analytic observational research design with a cross sectional approach. The research sample was 69 respondents using a purposive sampling technique. Data were obtained from the results of dental examinations using the PUFA index and a questionnaire filled out by parents/guardians of students. Data analysis used the chi square statistical test. The results of the study showed duration, duration, frequency of consumption of formula milk, use of bottles/pacifiers, addition of sweeteners to consumption of formula milk and history of breastfeeding up to 2 years of age, each of which showed a value of p 0.05, which means there is a relationship with ECC. The conclusion of this study is that there is a relationship between the pattern of formula feeding and the presence of ECC in preschool children in Ketileng Village, Todanan, Blora.

Literature Review: Parental Behavior in the Habit of Brushing Preschool Children's Teeth Against Early Childhood Caries

Oral and dental health is a component of general health and is also an essential factor in the normal growth of children. Caries affecting infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers describe a unique pattern of caries lesions called Early Childhood Caries (ECC). The purpose of this study was to describe parents' behaviour in brushing habits of preschool children against early childhood caries. This research is a literature review. The population in this study were 15,231 journals, both national and international, related to the behaviour of parents in brushing their teeth in preschool children against early childhood caries. The sample in this study was 15 journals published in 2015-2020. Based on the review literature on journals, it was found that the knowledge and skills of parents about the habit of brushing teeth, time and frequency of brushing teeth influenced early childhood caries in preschool children. Thus, the school should collaborate with the Puskemas concerning efforts to improve children's oral and dental health, which includes counselling on how to brush teeth properly, when brushing teeth and routine check-ups at the Puskesmas or the dentist.

Exploring the development, evaluation and implementation of complex health interventions to prevent early childhood caries in preschool children: A scoping review protocol.

ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to identify complex health interventions (CHI’s) to prevent early childhood caries (ECC), explore the level of complexity of the identified CHI’s, and explore the details of their development, evaluation, and implementation.IntroductionMany interventions to prevent ECC have multiple interacting components and can be seen as CHI’s. Recent reviews on these interventions have found inconclusive effects, which may be due to differences in the development, evaluation, and implementation of CHI’s.Inclusion criteriaThis scoping review will consider clinical trials reporting CHI’s to prevent ECC that starts during pregnancy or in the first year of life. Studies in the English language will be included regardless of the country of origin, sociocultural setting, or context.MethodsThis review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. An initial search of PubMed identified keywords and Medical Subject Headings terms. A second search of PubMed, Embase, Clarivate Analytics/Web of Science Core Collection, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Wiley/Cochrane Library will follow. Two independent reviewers will perform title and abstract screening, retrieve and review full-text studies, and extract data. The reference lists of all included sources will be screened for additional CHI’s or relevant publications about a specific CHI. Data charting will be utilised based on study characteristics and intervention complexity. A 39-item instrument will be used to explore the details in the description of the CHI’s development, evaluation, and implementation. The results will be presented in tables, visual outputs, and a narrative summary in response to the review questions.DiscussionThe proposed review will generate evidence which may provide a direction for the future design of studies on CHI’s to prevent ECC and more complete information for those who want to adopt successful interventions to prevent ECC.

Do glycemic index and glycemic load of diet contribute to early childhood caries in preschool children?

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the potential association between the glycemic index (GI) and the glycemic load (GL) with early childhood caries in preschool children.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study collected data from 225 children aged 37–71 months in governmental nursery schools within the Altindag district of Ankara, Turkey. GI and GL values of foods and beverages were calculated using 2008 international tables of GI and GL. Dental examinations were done under daylight and by using a headlight. The prevalence of caries was obtained by calculating the number of the decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) index score or decayed, missing and filled surface (dmfs) index score.FindingsThere were significant differences in the dmft and dmfs scores according to GI groups (p = 0.022 for both). The multivariate models showed that children who consumed a high-GI diet had higher dmft scores compared to children who consumed a medium-GI diet (ß 1.48, 95% CI −1.48, 4.44), whereas children who consumed a high-GL diet had lower dmft score compared to children who consumed low-GL diet (ß 0.55, 95% CI −0.97, 2.07), however, they were not statistically significant.Originality/valueDietary total GI and GL did not significantly influence the caries experience of preschool children. Future studies should focus on the different age groups with a broader perspective.

Association of Mothers' Genetic Taste Perception to Eating Habits and Its Influence on Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children: An Analytical Study.

AimsTo examine (1) the association of mothers’ 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) sensitivity with snacking habits and caries experience of both the mother and their 2-5-year-old preschool children and (2) the association of feeding habits with caries prevalence in 2-5-year-old children.Materials and methodsIn this analytical cross-sectional study, 2-5-year-old preschool children were clinically examined by a single calibrated examiner and divided into two groups of 80 children with early childhood caries (ECC) and 80 without. Mothers of the children were clinically examined and a second blinded investigator determined their genetic taste type using PROP. Data regarding feeding practices of the child and snacking habits of the mother and child were obtained using questionnaires. The data obtained were statistically analyzed.ResultsCariogenic snack consumption was more among nontaster mothers and their children (p value < 0.001). More number of children of the nontaster mothers in the ECC group were bottle-fed with sweetened beverages (n = 24) and received sweet snacks as rewards (n = 32). Caries prevalence of 73%, 20%, and 7% was seen in children of nontaster, medium taster, and supertaster mothers, respectively (p value < 0.05). Significant association was found between mother's caries activity, past bottle-feeding, receiving sweet snacks as reward and their child's caries experience.ConclusionMothers’ PROP sensitivity was significantly associated with snacking habits and caries experience of their children. Mothers’ PROP type could be an important factor that may determine and explain the dental caries experience in their 2-5-year-old preschool children.Clinical significanceEarly identification of nontaster mothers may prove beneficial in guiding them and consecutively their children toward healthy dietary habits, leading to lesser incidence of caries and their better overall wellbeing.How to cite this articleNellamakkada K, Patil SS, Kakanur M, et al. Association of Mothers’ Genetic Taste Perception to Eating Habits and Its Influence on Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children: An Analytical Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S135-S139.

Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children of Ambala District: A Cross-sectional Study.

IntroductionWith increased focus on preventive and promotive interventions in recent years, initial noncavitated carious lesions have drawn attention of healthcare planners as a relevant dental health indicator.Aim and objectivesThe aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and clinical sequelae of early childhood caries in District Ambala, Haryana.Materials and methodThe present cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,474 children aged 36–71 months old from randomly selected anganwadi centers or preschools. Clinical examination was carried out by single trained calibrated principal investigator and data was recorded on self-structured recording format. The caries assessment was made using International Caries Detection and Assessment system-II [ICDAS -II] and Pulpal Involvement, Ulceration, Fistula and Abscess [pufa/PUFA] Index, respectively. Later decayed, missing, and filled teeth [dmft] values were deduced from ICDAS codes to compare with known indices.ResultsThe prevalence of ECC was found to be 65.5 % [ICDAS code other than 0] and 38.2% [dmft < 0]. Prevalence of clinical sequelae [pufa < 0] was found to be 16.5%. There was increase in prevalence of dental caries [ICDAS code other than 0] with increasing age, and difference was statistically significant.ConclusionThe high prevalence of dental caries in this younger age-group suggests the need to curate strategies for prevention of early childhood caries and oral health promotion that include supportive and practical advice for parents and caregivers of preschool and anganwadi children.Clinical significanceTraditionally, dental caries are detected at cavitation stage however last 20 years have seen the shift to detection of noncavitated lesions that have slow rate of progression and it is the right time for controlling the severity of the lesion. The present study also highlights the need for the non-surgical management of noncavitated lesions.How to cite this articleEarly Childhood Caries in Preschool Children of Ambala District: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S191–S196.

Effect of application time of 38% silver diamine fluoride solution on arresting early childhood caries in preschool children: a randomised double-blinded controlled trial protocol

BackgroundTo study the caries lesion activity response to topical 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) therapy with increasing treatment application time.Methods/designThe design is a stratified-randomised, double-blind, active-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial with nine treatment arms. The trial will involve recruiting at least 414 3- to 5-year-old kindergarten children with caries, who will receive approximately 0.004 mL of 38% SDF (the typical amount applied per the manufacturer’s instructions) to treat each caries lesion. The children will be stratified by caries status, randomised by blocks, and allocated to nine groups of SDF application times: 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120, and 180 s. The outcome measure is caries lesion activity (active/arrest) at the tooth-surface level at 6 months post-initial treatment. A calibrated dentist will conduct the blinded clinical examinations at baseline and at the 6-month follow-up. In addition, the parents will be surveyed to examine the effects of the moderating variables, such as oral hygiene, on caries lesion activity. The hypothesis is that a monotonically increasing trend can be found between the SDF application time and the proportion of caries lesions that are arrested. The Cochran-Armitage test for trends in proportions, corrected for clustering within children, will be used to determine the relationship between the exposure to SDF (the SDF application time) and the response (proportion of lesions arrested) in children, taking into consideration the effect of the moderating variables as well as the nesting of multiple caries lesions within an individual child. An EC 80 analysis (an 80% maximal concentration) will be used to determine the exposure (the SDF application time) for 80% caries lesion arrest. Bootstrap methods will be used for clustered data and will be resampled by clustering to determine the 95% confidence interval.DiscussionThis study will help with determining the optimal application time for SDF treatment. It will provide an evidence-based protocol for the use of SDF to arrest tooth decay in the primary teeth of young children. The results will inform an evidence-based SDF protocol to arrest caries, which affects 573 million children with tooth decay worldwide.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04655430. Registered on 7th December 2020.

Relação entre rede e apoio social e cárie da primeira infância

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate the relationship between social network and social support with early childhood caries in preschool children. Methods: A transversal study with 100 children aging at most 5 years and 11 months was performed. The children underwent a clinical dental evaluation and their parents answered a structured questionnaire. Results: Dental caries was associated with time of bottle feeding (p=0.031) (RP=5.203) and number of dental appointment (p=0,010) (RP=6,293). Moreover, dental caries was also directly associated with the number of siblings living together in the same house (p=0.002) (r=0.372), while inverse correlation was found between dental caries and social support (p=0.028) (r= - 0.219). Conclusion: Preschool children whose supervisors had a better social support presented superior oral health, suggesting that social support from caregivers is associated with improved pediatric oral health.

Feeding practices and early childhood caries among children with primary dentition

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is major oral health problem of young children. Risk factors for ECC are poor oral hygiene and feeding practices. Prevalence and severity of ECC is increasing with change in lifestyle and diet pattern in developing countries. Objectives: To assess the association between feeding practices and severity of early childhood caries in preschool children. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with convenient sample of 96 children up to six years age in Peoples Dental College from July to December 2020. Clinical examination included the recording of dental caries (dmft) using WHO criteria. The self-validated questionnaire consisting seven questions about feeding practices was asked to mothers. The Chi-square test was performed to determine association between severity of ECC and feeding pattern. Results: Mean dmft was 6.77 ± 5.91. Prevalence of severe-ECC (S-ECC) was highest in youngest age group. Caries experience was similar in breast fed, bottle fed, and mixed. There was no significant difference in non-severe ECC and ECC in relation to duration of breast or bottle feeding but frequency of night feeding was associated with S-ECC. Children given ready-made infant formula solid food had more S-ECC (13, 92%) compared to non-severe ECC (1, 7.1%) which was statistically significant. Children given homemade gram flour food were noted to have less of S-ECC (5, 27.5%) than nonsevere ECC (13, 72.5%) which was statistically significant. Conclusion: Present study revealed that multiple night feeding and weaning with readymade food are significant factors for S-ECC.

Malnutrition, enamel defects, and early childhood caries in preschool children in a sub-urban Nigeria population.

The study tried to determine if malnutrition (underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight) and enamel defects (enamel hypoplasia, hypomineralized second molar, amelogenesis imperfecta, fluorosis) were associated with early childhood caries (ECC). The study also examined whether malnutrition was associated with the presence of enamel defects in 0-5-year-old children. The study was a secondary analysis of primary data of a cross-sectional study assessing the association between maternal psychosocial health and ECC in sub-urban Nigerian population collected in December 2018 and January 2019. One hundred and fifty nine children were recruited. Exploratory variables were malnutrition and enamel defects. The outcome variables were the prevalence of ECC in 0-2-year-old, 3-5-year-old, and 0-5-year-old children. Multivariable Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the associations, and socioeconomic status, oral hygiene status, and frequency of in-between-meals sugar consumption were adjusted for. The adjusted prevalence ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p values were calculated. The prevalence of ECC was 2.1% in 0-2-year-old children and 4.9% in 3-5-year-old children. In adjusted models, underweight, stunting, and wasting/overweight were not significant risk indicators for ECC in either age group. 0-2-year-old children who had amelogenesis imperfecta (p<0.001) and fluorosis (p<0.001) were more likely to have ECC than were children who did not have these lesions. 3-5-year-old children who had hypoplasia (p = 0.004), amelogenesis imperfecta (p<0.001) and fluorosis (p<0.001) were more likely to have ECC than were children who did not have these lesions. 0-5-year-old children with hypoplasia (p<0.001) and fluorosis (p<0.001) were more likely to have ECC than were children who did not have these lesions. There were significant associations between various types of malnutrition and various types of enamel defects. Although different types of malnutrition were associated with enamel defects, and enamel defects were associated with ECC, malnutrition was not associated with ECC. Further studies are needed to clarify the association between malnutrition and genetically and toxin-induced enamel defects.

Evaluation of factors affecting early childhood caries in preschool children: A cross-sectional study in a Dental Hospital

Evaluation of factors affecting early childhood caries in preschool children: A cross-sectional study in a Dental Hospital

Knowledge and practice of Caregivers about Prevention of Early Childhood Caries

Aim: This study was conducted to assess level of knowledge and practice of caregivers regarding prevention of early childhood caries in preschool children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among caregivers of preschool children. A consecutive sampling technique was used to recruit 399 caregivers based on sample size calculation. Data was collected based on clinical examination and previously validated questionnaires. Dental caries experiences were calculated by dmft index using WHO criteria for dental caries diagnosis. Statistical analysis: Data was statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science Software program, version 23. Data presented using frequency and percentage for qualitative variables. Comparison between groups had been performed using Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test for qualitative variables. P- Values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: This study highlights that caregivers who have good knowledge about oral health are mothers, high level of education, high family income, caregivers of child with dmft < 7. Additionally, family with high income, caregivers of children aged < 4 years and caregivers of the children with dmft < 7 and caregivers with sufficient knowledge each has higher practice regarding children oral healthConclusion: the majority of caregivers (64.4 %.) had sufficient knowledge related to prevention of ECC. In spite of that most of them (63.2% ) were having low skills to prevent ECC . So, oral health education programs should be targeted to caregivers especially the lower socio-economic groups to motivate them to take care of their child oral health and improve their practice..

Feeding Practices and Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children of Educated and Uneducated Mothers

Feeding Practices and Early Childhood Caries in Preschool Children of Educated and Uneducated Mothers

Use of principles of pathogenetic treatment of decompensated form of early childhood caries in preschool children

Aim. To ground the individualized pathogenetic approach to treatment of dental caries in preschool children.&#x0D; Materials and methods. We carried out the controlled randomized retrospective study, which included 111 children aged 12 to 72 months with decompensated form of caries course. Patients of the main group received pathogenetic treatment of dental caries, patients of the comparison group received symptomatic treatment and a complex of preventive measures. Patients of both groups were monitored after 6, 12 and 24 months.&#x0D; Results. The analyzed changes in caries intensity from the onset of performing individualized pathogenetic treatment of early childhood caries detected that 6 months later, a mean quantity of newly damaged surfaces was thrice as less in patients of the main group than in the comparison group. The data received one year after the onset of treatment, demonstrate a significant decrease in the growth of caries intensity of surfaces on average by one surface in persons of the main group compared to the comparison group (0.35 ± 0.12 and 1.57 ± 0.87, respectively, p = 0.05).&#x0D; Conclusions. The choice of rational approaches to the treatment of early childhood caries should be substantiated by histomorphological status of temporary teeth hard tissues, physicochemical parameters of oral fluid and pathogenetic protocols, adapted to specificity of early childhood caries course.

Early childhood caries in preschool children of gram panchayat Anoo, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh

Aim and Objectives: A study on prevalence and associated etiological factors of ECC. This study aimed to find the prevalence of ECC and the associated factors among preschool children in Anoo village, Hamirpur district (H.P). Materials and Methods: A sample of 65 children of age between 1 to 5 years was selected from anganwadi units of Anoo village. Dental caries was recorded and information regarding risk factors for caries was obtained through a questionnaire given to mothers or caretakers. Result: The prevalence of ECC was 55.38% and there was a strong association of ECC with some of the risk factors studied. Conclusion: The study emphasizes the need of dental health programs in preschool children. Increasing the awareness regarding maintaining good oral hygiene and encouraging the intake of healthy snacks in children can reduce ECC in concerned population.

Efficacy of Motivational Interviewing in Conjunction with Caries Risk Assessment (MICRA) Programmes in Improving the Dental Health Status of Preschool Children: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

To assess the efficacy of motivational interviewing in conjuction with a caries risk assessment (MICRA) programme to improve the dental health status of preschool children. A randomised controlled trial was conducted among 214 parents or caregivers and their children at Health Centre 54, Bangkok, Thailand, from September 2015 to February 2016. The participants were randomised to the intervention and the control groups (107 participants per group). At baseline, the intervention group received a caries risk assessment, individual counseling by using motivational interviewing, and oral hygiene instruction. The intervention group received reinforcement education and individual counseling by motivational interviewing every 3 months. The control group received a routine programme. Participants were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months for plaque index and caries. The data were analysed by using descriptive statistics, the chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, repeated-measures ANOVA, and negative binomial distribution. After the 6-month follow-up, participants in the intervention group had a significantly lower plaque index, non-cavitated plus cavitated carious lesions, and cavitated carious lesions when compared to the control group. The intervention group had a lower caries incidence, non-cavitated plus cavitated carious lesions (1.81 times) and cavitated carious lesions (2.04 times) than the control group. The combination of motivational interviewing and caries risk assessment in one programme decreased early childhood caries in preschool children. It is not known whether the effects are due to the motivational interviewing, the caries risk assessment, or the combination of both.