The Effect of Educating Mothers in Inter-Dental Cleaning Behavior on Their Children's Dental Health Behavior: Testing the Transtheoretical Model

Many of the oral health problems start in childhood that may affect the way of speaking, eating and even the social manners of the individual. The aim of this study was to test the Trans-theoretical Model to gain an understanding of the inter-dental cleaning behavior change in mothers and their children in the city of Sanandaj. This study was a randomized controlled trial, conducted in 2011 in eight Health Centers in Kurdistan province, Iran. Using a cluster sampling, we conducted a prospective study. The participants were grouped into an intervention group including 25 couples of mother and child, and a control Group including another 25 couples of mother and child. The intervention program was designed based on Trans-theoretical Model. The Gingival index of mothers and their children were recorded before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS-16 software and with paired T-test. Most of the mothers in the intervention group (64% vs. 96% in control group) did not use any of the tools (dental floss and tooth picks). After intervention, most of the mothers and their children were in action and preparation stages and the direction of change improved after the intervention. Significant statistical differences were found in self-efficacy, perceived benefits, and also Gingival index before and after the intervention between two groups (p= 0.03-0.001). There was a positive relationship between stages of behavior of inter-dental cleaning in mothers and their children. Qualitative research can be used to reveal underlying inter-dental cleaning perception and behaviors of mothers and children.