Dental caries prevention program for Cree mothers and infants

Key inclusion & exclusion criteria Inclusion criteria: 1. 309 Cree mother‐child pairs in Eeyou Istchee (Cree territory of northern Quebec) 2. Mothers aged 18 ‐ 49 years old Exclusion criteria: Any pregnant women or woman with a newborn who knows that she will be imminently moving out of the Cree territory. Age minimum: Age maximum: Gender: Female Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied Early childhood caries or tooth decay Oral Health Tooth Decay Intervention(s) Primary intervention is behavioural: motivational interviewing (MI) Experimental group: The first MI session will occur during pregnancy at time of enrolment. Mothers will participate in at least five more MI sessions that will correspond with well‐child immunisation visits between two and 24 months of age. Fluoride varnish will be offered at the 12, 18 and 24 month visits. Control group: Mothers will receive a pamphlet. Fluoride varnish will be available at local dental clinics. Primary Outcome(s) The prevalence of caries, or percentage of 30 month old children with decayed, extracted and filled surfaces (DEFS) more than zero, in each community will be determined. A child?s experience of caries will be determined by recording the DEFS, or number of decayed, extracted or filled primary tooth surfaces. Secondary Outcome(s) Data on dental health knowledge, oral home care practices, child‐feeding and comforting practices will be collected at 30 months and compared between test and control communities. In addition, data on "caries‐related health impacts", for example, history of pain, food avoidance or poor sleeping as a result of dental pain, and dental treatment received as a result of dental caries will be compared. Secondary ID(s) MCT‐67817 Source(s) of Monetary Support Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (Canada) ‐ http://www.cihr‐irsc.gc.ca (ref: MCT‐67817)