Early Stages of a Self-Determination Theory-Based Clinical Trial for ECC-Prevention

Objectives: This presentation describes the protocol for a randomized clinical trial and preliminary demographic findings.
Methods: This research compares the efficacy of autonomy-supportive videotaped oral health messages framed by self-determination theory(SDT) to more traditional neutral messages in the prevention of early childhood caries(ECC). Six-hundred and thirty-four pregnant mothers enrolled in WIC Programs are being recruited and followed until their future children are 36 months old. Pregnant mothers are randomly assigned to either an experimental SDT group where they receive autonomy-supportive messages, or a control group where they receive the same oral health content delivered using a neutral style. All mothers are exposed to a series of three videotaped oral health messages - during pregnancy, and when their future child is 12 and 24 months. Prior to and after watching the videos, participants complete a series of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. The primary outcome of interest will be children’s caries status. Secondary outcomes will be changes in caregiver’s behavior towards the child’s oral health (e.g., oral hygiene and dietary habits), plaque levels and mutans streptococci counts.
Results: Thus far, 116 subjects completed the initial visit (49% in the experimental group and 51% in the control group). Baseline results showed that participants’ mean age was 27.3±5.6 years; they were most frequently Caucasians (67%), single (54%), employed 32 hours or more per week (46%), had a high school diploma or GED (64%), and had annual incomes below $5,000 (25%). Seventy-five participants completed the 1-month follow-up questionnaires (52% experimental group), and 50 of them watched the booster video message at the 3-month interval (58% experimental group).
Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate good progress in recruitment from a low-income sample of pregnant mothers. If the trial is successful, SDT could be applied in high-risk populations to alleviate the ECC-burden.