THE COMPARISON OF EFFECT OF MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING AND DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION ON ORAL HEALTHCARE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOUR OF PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

ntroduction- Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been used in healthcare and has shown reduction in the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an MI approach delivered in an individual-setting as part of the regular dental appointment, on parent /caregiver oral health knowledge and attitudes toward the oral health of their children, in contrast with traditional dental health education (DHE), in an exploratory community-based study. The design of this study included 60 parents and caregiversMethod- visiting People's university (Bhopal) and were randomly assigned to Motivational interviewing(MI) group or Dental health education(DHE) group(30 in each group). Parents and caregivers in the MI-group (n = 30) received a talk on dental health using an MI approach and the DHE-group (n = 30) received a talk using traditional DHE. Both groups received additional, written dental health information and also received two telephone call follow-ups as part of the protocol at 3 months and 6 months. Both groups were given questionnaires before the talks and 3 months and 6 months later. Question items included oral health knowledge, attitudes, brushing behaviour, and a specic instrument to asses 'readiness for change', the Readiness Assessment of Parents Concerning Infant Dental Decay (RAPIDD). Both the groups were equally effective in raising theResult- awareness amongst the parents of the children seeking dental care. Intra-group comparison scores of individual items revealed that the scores obtained by participants belonging to group A and group B did not differ signicantly between the visits. Motivational interviewingConclusion- and Dental Health Education have similar effects when used as a part of regular dental appointment.