Involving Parents to Improve Tooth Brushing for Autistic Children.

NCT06855693 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 331171
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 48
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Parents of autistic children have reported a lack of understanding by oral health care staff around delivery of oral health preventive habits for their children. This study aims to investigate if oral healthcare training utilising the Mini Mouth Care Matters (MCM) programme designed for Special Education Settings (SES) enhances parent confidence in their ability to influence their child's oral health, increases toothbrushing episodes and reduces challenging toothbrushing behaviour of autistic children. The participants of this study will be parents of children who have a confirmed professional diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Parents will be recruited via healthcare professionals who provide oral health promotion within SES. Special Education Settings will be randomised into one of two groups. Group one will receive 'delivering better oral health' advice. Group two will receive the MCM user intervention guide for oral healthcare. A maximum of 30 parents will be recruited into each intervention arm. A maximum of 60 parents will be recruited to the study.

Conditions

Oral Health

Keywords

oral health; children; autism

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• The 13-step toothbrushing assessment tool

  The 13-step assessment tool identifies steps completed by parents or children, or steps not possible to complete. Parents will also be asked to record time spent toothbrushing.

  baseline and immediately after the intervention

• The validated Parental-Caregiver Current Oral Health Behaviours Questionnaire (OHBQ).

  The OHBQ has been developed to measure attitudes and beliefs of parents around their child's dental health. A section to capture demographic data, with questions utilised in previous studies, has been incorporated in the questionnaire sheet above the OHBQ to explore oral health inequalities associated with socioeconomic status, which are widely observed in the literature6.

  baseline

Study Arms (2)

Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention

EXPERIMENTAL

The PHE Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit has been developed with the support of the 4 UK Chief Dental Officers. This is a general population approach to Oral Hygiene advice and includes the following: Effective toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste is important to support oral health. The physical action of brushing removes plaque, which prevents gingivitis and periodontitis, and the fluoride in toothpaste is effective against tooth decay. The following key messages for the population include when and how to brush, specific habits associated with brushing, and, where necessary, assistance with brushing. There may be adaptations of toothbrushes, such as special grip handles, that are helpful to people who have limited manual dexterity.

Behavioral: Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention

Mini Mouth Care Matters guide for special Education Settings

EXPERIMENTAL

Oral hygiene guidance from a Clinical standard for autistic children and young people and/or those with a learning disability in special educational settings (Mini Mouth Care Matters Special Education Settings resources. This is a specific approach to providing Oral Hygiene for children with sensory challenges. This clinical standard supports the vision of universal access whereby everyone receives quality health services that meet their specific needs. The clinical standard is designed to be used by all those involved in improving health outcomes and quality of life, including eating, speaking and socialising, for autistic children and young people, and those with a learning disability in England. It is accompanied by a supporting package of tools, resources, and modules to support the delivery of the oral healthcare assessment (either face to face or remote) and to support teams in the development o

Behavioral: Mini Mouth Care Matters guide for special Education Settings

Interventions

Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention BEHAVIORAL

The PHE Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit has been developed with the support of the 4 UK Chief Dental Officers. This is a general population approach to Oral Hygiene advice and includes the following: Effective toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste is important to support oral health. The physical action of brushing removes plaque, which prevents gingivitis and periodontitis, and the fluoride in toothpaste is effective against tooth decay. The following key messages for the population include when and how to brush, specific habits associated with brushing, and, where necessary, assistance with brushing. There may be adaptations of toothbrushes, such as special grip handles, that are helpful to people who have limited manual dexterity.

Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention

Mini Mouth Care Matters guide for special Education Settings BEHAVIORAL

2\. Oral hygiene guidance from a Clinical standard for autistic children and young people and/or those with a learning disability in special educational settings (Mini Mouth Care Matters Special Education Settings resources. This is a specific approach to providing Oral Hygiene for children with sensory challenges. This clinical standard supports the vision of universal access whereby everyone receives quality health services that meet their specific needs. The clinical standard is designed to be used by all those involved in improving health outcomes and quality of life, including eating, speaking and socialising, for autistic children and young people, and those with a learning disability in England. It is accompanied by a supporting package of tools, resources, and modules to support the delivery of the oral healthcare assessment (either face to face or remote) and to support teams in the development of complementary tailored mouthcare plans.

Mini Mouth Care Matters guide for special Education Settings

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Parent/Carer of an autistic child aged between 3 and 15 years Parent/Carer of an autistic child attending a Special Education Setting Parent/Carer with capacity to provide consent

You may not qualify if:

• Parent/Carer that cannot adequately understand verbal explanations or information written in English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust: lead

Study Sites (1)

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 3EW, United Kingdom

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autistic Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Jennifer Parry, FDS RCS(Paeds) MDentSci BDS

  Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Randomised Controlled Trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 19, 2025
• First Posted: March 4, 2025
• Study Start: January 3, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 31, 2025
• Study Completion: March 31, 2025
• Last Updated: March 25, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)