Oral Hygiene in a Sample of Children/Adolescents Living in Family-Homes from the Province of Milan (Italy): A Pilot Study

Dentistry Journal

Giulia Moreo¹  Floriana Bosco²  Simona Tecco²  Alessandro Nota²  Shideh Ehsani²  Francesca Giugliano² 

[1] Dental School, Milano-Bicocca University, 20132 Milan, Italy;Dental School, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, via Olgettina 48, 20132 Milan, Italy;

关键词: oral hygiene;    disadvantaged children;    plaque index;    motivational program;   

DOI  :  10.3390/dj8020033

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Objective: This pilot study is a prospective controlled clinical trial, designed to evaluate the short-term clinical results (the plaque index) of an educational/motivational program for home oral hygiene, directed to children and adolescents who live in family-homes. Methods: The setting of the project was the province of Milan (Italy), where two family-homes were selected. The study group included 26 children (16 females and 10 males) aged between 7 and 15 years, of Italian nationality, from the family-home communities. The control group included 26 children (15 females and 11 males, aged between 7 and 15 years) of Italian nationality, matched for age and gender distribution with the study group, that were not in a socially disadvantaged condition. Collection of the plaque index (PI) was performed at t0. Then, all basic oral hygiene instructions were given to all children/adolescents and their educators. Education and motivation were repeated in the same way after 4–7 weeks (T1), and after 10–12 weeks (T2). The PI was taken also at T1 and T2. Results: An improvement in the PI was generally found in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups over time. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a statistically significant effect of time [F (1, 52) = 90.73, p < 0.001], regardless of the assignment group, in consequence of which the plaque index presented a moderate and significant improvement. Conclusion: The present data confirm the validity of the educational/motivational program to improve oral hygiene in children/adolescents, regardless of the assignment group.

【 授权许可】

Unknown