Preventing Caries in Preschoolers: testing a Unique Service Delivery Model in American Indian Head Start Programs

The study design will be a clustered randomized design. Fifty‐two head start classes in a Southwest American Indian Reservation will be randomized, 26 to the intervention program and 26 to usual care. The intervention will be comprised of specially trained paraprofessionals, called community oral health specialists (COHS), administering fluoride varnish and oral health promotion education quarterly for 2 years. Baseline and annual measures of decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) of the children, and surveys of their caregivers' dental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors will be completed. The study will be a 5‐year study, with 2 years for intake/accrual, and 3 years of follow‐up.