***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Objectives We tested a dental health program in remote Aboriginal communities of Australia 's Northern Territory , hypothesizing that it would reduce dental caries in preschool children . Methods In this 2-year , prospect i ve , cluster-r and omized , concurrent controlled , open trial of the dental health program compared to no such program , 30 communities were allocated at r and om to intervention and control groups . All residents aged 18–47 months were invited to participate . Twice per year for 2 years in the 15 intervention communities , fluoride varnish was applied to children 's teeth , water consumption and daily tooth cleaning with toothpaste were advocated , dental health was promoted in community setting s , and primary health care workers were trained in preventive dental care . Data from dental examinations at baseline and after 2 years were used to compute net dental caries increment per child ( d3mfs ) . A multi-level statistical model compared d3mfs between intervention and control groups with adjustment for the clustered r and omization design ; four other models used additional variables for adjustment . Results At baseline , 666 children were examined ; 543 of them ( 82 % ) were re-examined 2 years later . The adjusted d3mfs increment was significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the control group by an average of 3.0 surfaces per child ( 95 % CI = 1.2 , 4.9 ) , a prevented fraction of 31 % . Adjustment for additional variables yielded caries reductions ranging from 2.3 to 3.5 surfaces per child and prevented fractions of 24–36 % . Conclusions These results corroborate findings from other studies where fluoride varnish was efficacious in preventing dental caries in young children OBJECTIVE This paper reports the results of a community trial to measure the clinical impact of a linked series of interventions on  Early Childhood Caries ( ECC )  and general caries levels among five-year-old children . It exemplifies the problems of undertaking population based interventions in deprived communities . RESEARCH DESIGN Two health districts ( Primary Care Groups ) were matched for dental disease levels and socio-demographic factors . One was r and omly allocated to be the active intervention PCG , the other the comparison PCG .  Children in the active PCG  received a series of interventions to support positive dental health behaviour  from the age of 8 to 32 months . Clinical examinations were undertaken on a cohort of 5-year-old children in both active and comparison PCGs . SETTING In the active PCG , children who attended design ated clinics for their 8-month developmental checks and /or MMR inoculations at 12 to 15 months , were given gift bags , the first contained a trainer cup , the second fluoride toothpaste ( 1450 ppm F ) and toothbrush . Parents were also given written , pictorial and verbal advice on oral care . Further supplies of toothpaste and brushes were posted to the children 's homes at 20 , 26 and 32 months . When five years of age children in the two PCGs were examined in school . OUTCOME MEASURES Severity and prevalence of ECC and general caries . Levels of participation . RESULTS Among participants in the active PCG the prevalence of ECC , general caries and extraction experience and mean dmft ( 20 % : 54 % : 3 % : 2.2 ) were lower than in ' participants ' in the comparison area ( 32 % : 64 % : 12 % : 3.7 ) . All differences were statistically significant . When all children ( participants and non- participants ) in the two PCGs were compared , the differences were much reduced ( 30 % : 63 % : 6 % : 3.1 vs. 32 % : 64 % : 12 % : 3.6 ) . A higher proportion of children in the active PCG area ( 47 % ) were found not to have participated in the interventions , when compared to 21 % in the comparison area . Disease levels in the non- participants in the active PCG were particularly high . The impact of participation bias , changes in baseline balance , population mobility and alternative study design on outcomes are explored . CONCLUSION The impact of non-participation in a deprived , urban conurbation with high levels of population mobility are sufficient to dilute the impact of a health intervention such that few benefits are discernible at a population level OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of regularly supplying free fluoride toothpaste regularly to children , initially aged 12 months , and living in deprived areas of the north west of Engl and on the level of caries in the deciduous dentition at 5 - 6 years of age . A further aim was to compare the effectiveness of a programme using a toothpaste containing 440 ppmF ( Colgate 0 - 6 Gel ) with one containing 1,450 ppmF ( Colgate Great Regular Flavour ) in reducing caries . DESIGN R and omised controlled parallel group clinical trial . Clinical data were collected from test and control groups when the children were 5 - 6 years old . SETTING A programme of posting toothpaste with dental health messages to the homes of children initially aged 12 months . Clinical examinations took place in primary schools . PARTICIPANTS 7,422 children born in 3-month birth cohorts living in high caries areas in nine health districts in north west Engl and . Within each district children were r and omly assigned to test or control groups . INTERVENTIONS Toothpaste , containing either 440 ppmF or 1450 ppmF , and dental health literature posted at three monthly intervals to children in test groups until they were aged 5 - 6 years . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The dmft index , missing teeth and the prevalence of caries experience . RESULTS An analysis of 3,731 children who were examined and remained in the programme showed the mean dmft to be 2.15 for the group who had received 1,450 ppmF toothpaste and 2.49 for the 440 ppmF group . The mean dmft for the control group was 2.57 . This 16 % reduction between the 1,450 ppmF and control group was statistically significant ( P<0.05 ) . The difference between the 440 ppmF group and control was not significant . Further analyses to estimate the population effect of the programme also confirmed this relationship . CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that a programme distributing free toothpaste containing 1,450 ppmF provides a significant clinical benefit for high caries risk children living in deprived , non-fluori date d districts OBJECTIVE The medical centre at Almirante Nef Naval Hospital , Vina del Mar , Chile , operates a  mother and child preventive dental program ( PDP )  which includes women from their fourth month of pregnancy and mothers with their offspring . The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of this prenatal and postnatal prevention program after the first four years . METHODS The prevalence of  early childhood caries  of 180 1- to 3.5-year-old children enrolled in the PDP was compared with 180 non-participating children . The control group was r and omly selected from the rolls of the healthy child system of of the Valparaiso-San Antonio Health Service and was comparable by age , socio-economic status and level of fluoride in the drinking water ( 1.0 p.p.m . F ) with the PDP group .  Clinical caries examinations were conducted by two calibrated examiners using the WHO visual criteria . RESULTS In the PDP group , 97 % of the children were caries free compared with the 77 % in the control group . The dft ( mean + /- SD ) of the PDP children was 0.11 + /- 0.78 versus 0.66 + /- 1.55 for the control children , a difference of 83.3 % . The differences between the groups in caries-free status and caries prevalence were both statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ) . CONCLUSIONS The preventive dental program was effective in inhibiting caries in pre-school children , even in a population already receiving the benefits of community water fluoridation Background Motivational Interviewing ( MI ) has been used across primary healthcare and been shown to be effective in reducing the prevalence of early childhood caries ( ECC ) in preschool children . This study aim ed to compare the effect of MI , in contrast to traditional dental health education ( DHE ) , on oral health knowledge , attitudes , beliefs and behaviours among parents and caregivers of preschool children in Trinidad . Method The design of this exploratory study included a cluster r and omised controlled trial and semi-structured focus groups . Six preschools ( 79 parents and caregivers ) in Eastern Trinidad were r and omly assigned to a test or control group ( 3 preschools in each group ) . Parents and caregivers in the test-group ( n = 25 ) received a talk on dental health using an MI approach and the control-group ( n = 54 ) received a talk using traditional DHE . Both groups received additional , written dental health information . The MI group also received two telephone call follow-ups as part of the MI protocol . Both groups were given question naires before the talks and four months later . Question items included oral health knowledge , beliefs , attitudes , brushing behaviour , oral health self-efficacy , oral health fatalism and a specific instrument to asses ‘ readiness for change ’ , the Readiness Assessment of Parents Concerning Infant Dental Decay ( RAPIDD ) . Participants in the test-group were also invited to take part in a focus group to share their views on the dental health talk . Results At four month follow-up , knowledge items on fluoride use , tooth brushing , dietary practice and dental attendance increased in both the test ( DHE + MI ) and control ( DHE ) groups ( ( p < 0.05 , Chi Square test ) . In the test-group there were increases in mean child tooth brushing frequency and reduction in oral health fatalism ( p < 0.05 t-test ) . Findings from a thematic analysis of the focus group suggested that the MI talk and telephone follow-up were well accepted and helpful in supporting parent and caregiver efforts to improve oral health practice s for their preschool children . Conclusion In this exploratory controlled study there was some evidence that using an MI approach when delivering oral health information had a positive effect on parent/ caregiver oral health knowledge , attitudes and behaviours compared to traditional DHE . There is need for further research involving the use of brief-counselling techniques in this Caribbean population Abstract Objective . ( 1 ) To evaluate the dental status of 5-year-old children in Clermont-Ferr and ( France ) in 2009 ; ( 2 ) To measure changes in children 's dental status between 2003 and 2009 ; and ( 3 ) To estimate the impact of an Oral Health Promotion ( OHP ) program implemented in nine schools since 2005 . Material s and methods . All 5-year-olds attending public schools in deprived areas ( n = 15 ) and six r and omly selected other schools in Clermont-Ferr and were invited to participate .  Dental status was recorded using d3mft , as in 2003 . Parents responded to questions about their child 's oral hygiene and provided socio-demographic information . Results . Of children invited , 478 ( 77 % ) were examined .  Mean dmft was 1.18 ( SD 2.61 ) ; 27.6 % had at least one tooth affected . Caries experience varied significantly with deprivation status , oral hygiene and household SES indicators . The only difference observed between 2003 and 2009 was an increase in the ‘ f ’ component ( p < 0.001 ) . Dental status had slightly deteriorated in areas characterized in 2003 by low caries levels ( p=0.07 ) . In deprived areas , mean dmft increased in schools without the OHP program ( p = 0.04 ) . Changes between 2003 and 2009 were studied at school level using Multiple Factorial Analysis ; it tended to improve in four schools , which had the OHP program . Household indicators of SES changed little . Oral hygiene levels varied differently from one school to another . Conclusions . Caries experience was high , with large inequalities between children . No major differences were observed between 2003 and 2009 . The OHP program has done little to reduce disparities in oral health , even if dental status improved in four schools PURPOSE The aim of this study was to assess the caries prevalence in the adult population of Pomerania , Germany in comparison to national and international data . MATERIAL S AND METHODS The study sample comprised 4,022 r and omly selected subjects who were examined from October 1997 to May 2001 within the " Study of Health in Pomerania " ( medical and dental , population -based cross-sectional study in Pomerania , Northeast Germany . Response rate : 69 % . Age range of subjects : 25 - 79 yrs ) . Carious defects , fillings and missing teeth were diagnosed and the DMFT/S scores were calculated according to WHO guidelines ( 1997 ) . These figures were compared to other German , Swedish and US data . RESULTS Women exhibited higher mean DMFT and DMFS values in all age groups than men . The mean DMFT/S scores were slightly higher than the values for the only two available nationally representative age groups in Germany . The prevalence of primary carious lesions or secondary caries was very low , result ing in minor treatment needs ( decayed surfaces : mean 0.95 + /- 3.3 ) and high care indices ( FS/DFS ) for all age groups ( 90 - 95 % ) . In contrast to this , the mean numbers of fillings in adults and especially of missing teeth in seniors were much higher in Pomerania for all age groups than in the Swedish and US adult population , where a caries decline was demonstrated . CONCLUSION In spite of a very low 
    Output:
    
High evidence of mostly high magnitude was retrieved for behavioural interventions in early childhood caries ( ECC ) , weak evidence for a small effect in proximal caries and an unclear effect of specific informational/motivational programmes on prevention of periodontal diseases and no evidence of root caries .
CONCLUSION Early childhood caries can be successfully prevented by population -based preventive programmes via aim ing at the change in behaviour .
The effect of individual specific motivational/informational interventions has not yet been clearly demonstrated neither for the prevention of caries nor for periodontal diseases