Parents' Perception of Fissure Sealant Therapy in 6-12 Year Old Children: Evaluating a theory-driven intervention

Dental caries is considered a major global health issue and among the most challenging diseases worldwide. An effective way of preventing dental caries is the fissure sealant (FS) therapy.

To determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention developed based on the health belief model (HBM) for parents' perception of FS therapy for their children.

Quasi-experiment among 300 parents of 6-12 year-old children, 150 in the intervention group (IG) and 150 in the control (CG), in the south of Iran recruited via both clustering and convenience sampling. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire collecting demographic information, knowledge and data on HBM constructs and FS behaviour. Eight intervention sessions, 40-60 minutes long, were held for over month. The primary outcome was child's receipt of fissure sealants 3 months after the intervention.

The two groups had similar knowledge and the HBM constructs at baseline. After the intervention, the receipt of FS therapy was 65% and 12% in the IG and CG, respectively (p ⟨ 0.001, Chi Sq.). ANCOVA supported post-test differences between the intervention and control groups when accounting for baseline scores (p⟨0.05).

The educational HBM-based intervention improved parents' perceptions and their children's receipt of FS therapy. The intervention affected the HBM constructs. Barriers to healthy oral/dental behaviours may be reduced by interventions at multiple layers (beyond the individual level).