Antenatal Health Care and Postnatal Dental Check-Ups Prevent Early Childhood Caries.

The first stage of early childhood caries (ECC) is infection by mutans streptococci, of which the primary infection source is the child's mother. Early intervention programs including antenatal and postnatal phases are effective for reducing ECC. This study was conducted to assess the respective effects of antenatal health care and postnatal care such as regular dental check-ups on reducing ECC among 3-year-old Japanese children. This nested case-control study of 155 three-year-old children (49.0% boys) was conducted at a dental clinic that provides collaborative health services with the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Okayama. Child characteristics and the mothers' antenatal data were collected retrospectively from the dental charts. They were divided into two groups: caries-free children (n = 77) and children without ECC (n = 78). Most of the children (81.9%) received regular check-ups with topical fluoride application. Most of the mothers reported morning sickness during pregnancy (81.3%), normal delivery (72.9%), and used antenatal health care (80.6%). Over half (55.5%) were primigravida. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidential interval (95% CI) were computed to assess the strength of association using logistic regression analysis. Receiving antenatal health care (AOR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.30-8.24) and child's having regular check-ups (AOR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.35-8.69) were significantly associated with caries-free status among three-year old children. For ECC prevention, antenatal health care is as effective as regular check-ups up to three years of age. The results of this retrospective study demonstrate that maternal health education during pregnancy is effective for ECC prevention.

Reliability and cross-cultural validity of a Japanese version of the Dental Fear Survey.

BACKGROUND: This study established the reliability and cross-cultural validity of a Japanese version of the Dental Fear Survey (DFS). METHODS: Two studies were carried out in separate populations. The first involved 166 Japanese dental and nursing students and assessed internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The second involved 2,095 Japanese parents or guardians of school children and tested the hypothesis that the conceptual structure of the Japanese translation was consistent with the U.S. version using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). RESULTS: In the first study Cronbach alpha ranged from .94 to .96 and test-retest reliability (Spearman correlation) ranged from .89 to .92. The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) was 0.919 (95%CI: 0.892 - 0.940). In the second study SEM was used on the covariance matrix of the 20 questions in a random sample of 600 questionnaires to evaluate the goodness of fit of the theoretical model; and then, in an exploratory manner corrected for specification errors until a model that fit the data well was achieved. CONCLUSION: The Japanese version of the DFS appears reliable and demonstrates cross-cultural validity. The modeling confirms the three factors on which the English language version was based.

The Children's Fear Survey Schedule-Dental Subscale in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this research are to examine the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Dental Subscale of Children's Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS), and to examine the responses of children in the dental setting and in the community. METHODS: The CFSS-DS was translated into Japanese and administered to three samples. The first sample comprised 134 child patients aged 8-15 years, of whom 100 were assigned for test-retest analysis, and the behavior of the remaining 34 additional children were rated during their dental appointments, and compared with their questionnaire results. A second sample of 532 child patients aged 8-15 years, completed the CFSS-DS and also one additional item measuring fear of returning to the dentist. A third sample of 1250 school children aged 8-15 years was surveyed using the CFSS-DS and the additional item measuring fear of returning to the dentist. RESULTS: The Japanese version of the CFSS-DS showed good internal consistency (alpha=0.91) and test-retest reliability (r=0.90), as well as good criterion validity assessed by the relationship with actual child behavior (r(s)=0.51). It also showed good construct validity assessed by correlation with willingness to return to the dentist. Fear levels were higher in the school sample than in the clinic sample (27.7 versus 24.6). Girls reported more fear than boys (26.2 versus 23.2 in the clinic sample, and 30.7 versus 24.8 in the school sample). Injections, choking, having a stranger touch them, and drilling were the most common fears. Factor analyses demonstrated a factor pattern similar to the results found in other cultures. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the CFSS-DS is reliable and valid and operates in Japan as it does in other cultures.