NCT04898465

Improving Family's Adherence to Dental Care After DGA (HECC-CAN-study)

Improving Family's Adherence to Dental Care After Dental General Anaesthesia (DGA). Helsinki Early Childhood Caries - Child Abuse and Neglect-study. (HECC-CAN)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 89 (actual)
• Sponsor: Helsinki University Central Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 5 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common disease. Its prevalence is highest in poor, socially disadvantaged, and minority groups. Dental treatment under General Anaesthesia (DGA) is common, especially among the youngest patients. Parental adherence to child's post-DGA dental treatment is varying. Non-attendance to preventive care appointments and dental check-ups after the DGA is also common. The primary aim of this study is to explore if a multi-professional (paediatrician and social worker) intervention after the child's DGA can increase the adherence to post-DGA dental care. The secondary aim is to compare its possible influence on children's oral health 18 months after the DGA. Our hypothesis is that multi-professional counselling and support after the DGA will lead to better adherence to the scheduled preventive dental programme and better oral health for these children in the long run.

Detailed description

In an earlier Finnish study 26% of the children did not attend to their first scheduled appointment after the DGA and during a four years follow-up period 63% of the patients had one or more no-shows. Based on the assumption that reducing the amount of no-shows to half of the reported earlier (60% vs. 30%) is a clinically relevant result, we need 42 patients for both groups (alpha 0.05, beta 0.2, power 0.8).

Conditions

• Dental Caries
• Child Neglect

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Social Paediatric Intervention	Family will meet the hospital's social-paediatrician and social worker. Together they will evaluate the need for social support, risk for neglect and refer families for local social services if needed. The visit will contain primary and secondary prophylaxis of child abuse and neglect.

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-02-26
• Primary completion: 2023-01-01
• Completion: 2024-01-01
• First posted: 2021-05-24
• Last updated: 2025-09-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Finland