Oral health among children participating in an extended home visiting programme-a case-control study

Purpose To evaluate whether an extended home visiting programme by child health nurses and parent counsellors can prevent caries and improve oral health habits in children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods All families in Sweden are offered one home visit when the child is two weeks old. The extended home visiting programme included five extra home visits between two and fifteen months of age where every visit had a specific theme (child safety, feeding, attachment/interaction, parenthood, social network, and self-care). Toothbrush and toothpaste, together with oral health information, were given around eight months of age. Clinical examinations and oral health habit questionnaires were conducted at 12, 24, and 36 months of age. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System was used to assess caries, and the results were compared to those of an age-matched control group following the standard child health care programme. Results Significantly (p < 0.05) more children had caries at 36 months of age in the intervention group (32.8%) than in the control group (10.1%). The intervention group had significantly (p < 0.05) more plaque and a greater frequency of sweet snacks and drinks. In the intervention group, significantly (p < 0.05) more parents were under the age of 25 and foreign-born. Significantly (p < 0.001) more foreign-born parents were born in high-income countries in the control group compared to the intervention group. Conclusion The extended home visiting programme did not improve the prevalence of caries or oral health habits in this cohort. However, since the groups differed in socioeconomic factors, the results should be interpreted with caution.