A systematic review of school-based student peer-led oral health interventions to promote the oral health of school children.

BACKGROUND: Poor oral health in children highlights the need for prevention and effective interventions. During late childhood and adolescence, peer relationships can play a vital role in adopting and maintaining positive health behaviours. AIM: To identify the oral health outcomes of school-based student peer-led delivery of oral health interventions. METHODS: A search strategy was developed, piloted, and run in four electronic databases: Medline via Ovid, Web of Science, CINAHL via EBSCO, and CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) using key concepts of peer, oral health and adolescent in the school context. Methodological quality was assessed using QuaDs quality assessment tool. All articles were independently screened by two researchers and data was analysed using narrative data synthesis. The PRISMA checklist complemented by aspects of the Synthesis Without Meta-analysis (SWiM) was used to report this systematic review. RESULTS: There were 7572 identified, 24 studies progressed to full-text review, ten studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Only six studies based their interventions on psychological & behavioural theory. Intervention delivered by peers showed improvements in both clinical and self-reported outcomes when compared to other delivery methods (e.g., professionals). Quality of included studies was reported according to QuaDs guidance. CONCLUSION: Peer-led interventions were more effective in improving oral health status and behaviours when compared to other modes of delivery. Future research should assess if a bi-directional impact of peer-led interventions can be seen. Specifically, if there is added value for school-based student peer-leader's including their own oral health knowledge, skills, attitude and preventative behaviours.

Facilitators and barriers to home-based toothbrushing practices by parents of young children to reduce tooth decay: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: Parental supervised toothbrushing (PSB) is a collection of behaviours recommended by national guidance to improve oral health. This systematic review aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to PSB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Studies investigating parental involvement in home-based toothbrushing in children under 8 years old and the impact on tooth decay were included. Electronic databases, references and unpublished literature databases were searched. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was used to code barriers/facilitators to PSB. RESULTS: Of the 10,176 articles retrieved, 68 articles were included. Barriers and facilitators were found across all 12 TDF domains. Barriers included an inadequate toothbrushing environment and resources, knowledge of what PSB entails and child behaviour management. Facilitators were increased oral health knowledge, the adaption of the social environment to facilitate PSB and positive attitudes towards oral health. When only high-quality articles were synthesized, knowledge was not a common barrier/facilitator. CONCLUSIONS: There are a comprehensive range of barriers/facilitators to PSB acting across all domains and at multiple levels of influence. This review identifies the most popular domains, thus informing the focus for supporting resources to supplement oral health conversations. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: PSB is a complex behaviour. Practitioners need to understand and be able to explore the wide range of potential barriers and have practical suggestions to enable PSB. This review provides pragmatic examples of different barriers and facilitators and emphasises the importance of listening to parents and exploring their story to identify the barriers and solutions that are relevant to each family.

Home-based toothbrushing interventions for parents of young children to reduce dental caries: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries is the most prevalent preventable condition in children. A key preventive home-based oral health behaviour is the adoption and maintenance of parental supervised toothbrushing until 8 years of age. AIM: To examine interventions promoting parental supervised toothbrushing practices to reduce dental caries in young children (<8 years old). DESIGN: Interventions promoting parental involvement in home-based toothbrushing in children under 8 years old and their impact on caries were subjected to review. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library), references, and unpublished literature databases were searched for relevant literature. RESULTS: Of the 10 176 articles retrieved, forty-two articles were included. The Theoretical Domains Framework was used to code intervention content, with the main domains addressed being knowledge (41/42), skills (35/42), and environmental context and resources (22/42). Sufficient descriptions of the intervention development, delivery, and evaluation were lacking, with only 18 studies being underpinned by theory. Twenty-nine studies explored the impact on caries yielding mixed results. CONCLUSIONS: There are few interventions targeting home-based oral health behaviours underpinned by theory and methodological rigour in their development and evaluation. This demonstrates a clear need for future interventions to be guided by complex intervention methodology.