Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Child Dental Anxiety (FI)

dina darwish

Status: Completed

Conditions: Child Dental Anxiety; Food Insecurity; Maternal Psychological Distress

Treatments: Other: Routine Dental Examination

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04186689

829

Details and patient eligibility

About

identifying children with dental anxiety among those who suffered from food insecurity will enable to implement preventive strategies and early intervention. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between food insecurity, maternal psychological status and child dental behavior.

Full description

A well-trained investigator will collect data on maternal age (in years), the marital status, the educational levels of both parents and their employment status, pregnancy information, as well as family structure (whether children are living with both parents or not), number of siblings (none, one, two, or ≥three). Information on family monthly income and crowding index which is defined as the average number of people per room, excluding both the kitchen and bathrooms will be also obtained.

The level of household food insecurity will be determined using the validated Arabic version of the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) which categorizes food insecurity into three levels (food secure , marginally food secure and food insecure) where the final score is given according to the sum of affirmative responses to the tool statements and the higher the score the more the level of food insecurity.

The validated Arabic version of the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale will be used to measure the self-reported level of stress among mothers of the enrolled children by assessing their feelings and thoughts during the last month. The level of child's dental anxiety will be assessed during the initial oral examination before starting any dental treatment procedures using the six-point Venham behavior rating scale which ranges from total cooperation (0) to no cooperation

Enrollment: 108 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 40 months to 6 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• the selected children accompanied by their mother should fulfill the following inclusion criteria:

  • Age range 3.5-6 years
  • Having at least one tooth with dental caries indicated for dental treatment under local anesthesia other than extraction
  • Visiting the dental clinic for the first time

Exclusion criteria

• Children with the following criteria will be totally excluded from the study: Have any medical/neurological, communicative or developmental disorders as well as children with special healthcare needs.

Trial design

108 participants in 3 patient groups

children in fully food secure households (G1)

Description:

preschool children live in a fully food secure household have at least a carious tooth that needs treatment under local anesthesia other than extraction without any previous dental treatment experience.

Treatment:

Other: Routine Dental Examination

children in marginally food secure households (G2)

Description:

preschool children live in a marginally food secure household have at least a carious tooth that needs treatment under local anesthesia other than extraction without any previous dental treatment experience.

Treatment:

Other: Routine Dental Examination

children in food insecure households (G3)

Description:

preschool children live in a food-insecure household have at least a carious tooth that needs treatment under local anesthesia other than extraction without any previous dental treatment experience.

Treatment:

Other: Routine Dental Examination