Purpose: To study new programmes in health promotion of 6- to
36-month-old children included in the public dental service (PDS) of
Vantaa and compare them with the previously used programme by assessing
parents' opinions on the oral health counselling and their readiness to
make changes in oral health habits. An additional aim was to study
parents' readiness to change their child's health habits in relation to
the child's MS colonisation, health habits and parents' education.
Materials
and Methods: The subjects consisted of the parents of first-born
children examined at age two (n = 647). The link to the study was
e-mailed to the parents (n = 586) after their child's two-year visit.
The dental professionals were trained to do plaque testing, observe
dental decay and control the progression of caries lesions, utilise the
oral health counselling programmes and deliver client-centered
counselling. Data were statistically analysed using Pearson's Chi-Square
and logistic regression.
Results: The response rate was 68%. In the
opinion of 91% of the respondents, the information received was at
least somewhat useful. The respondents in the new programmes were more
likely to report at least intending to change their own health habits (p
= 0.032). There was, however, no programme-related difference in
readiness for change their child's health habits. Respondents who
made/intend to make changes reported a lower level of education and
their children were more likely to have had positive MS scores compared
to children whose parents reported having made no changes.
Conclusions:
It may be possible to promote beneficial habits by delivering oral
health counselling to parents, who would thus serve as better role
models for their children. The findings indicate that the changes
occurred in the families who needed it most.