Caries,Dental, Dental Cavity
Conditions
Keywords
Sugar Consumption, Nutritional Counselling
Brief summary
The purpose of the study is to assess the effectiveness of nutritional counselling on added sugar consumption, frequency of snacking and caries experiences expressed as Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth score (DMFT).
Detailed description
The study involves two visits: the first lasting approximately 30-45 minutes, and the second about 15 minutes that occurs 2 weeks after the first visit. Procedures and Activities. Subjects will be assigned to either the control or intervention group by the toss of a coin. Subjects will provide information about their personal health history, including age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Subjects will undergo an oral examination to assess dental health through a DMFT score, which measures decayed, missing, and filled teeth. Additionally, the daily added sugar consumption will be calculated using an app called Sugar Intake calculator. For the control group, no further nutritional advice will be given, while participants in the intervention group will receive additional guidance on sugar consumption using a tool called Stephan's curve. A log will be given to the subjects to track their daily snacking frequency and what type and amount of snack it entailed. After two weeks, subjects will return for a follow-up to evaluate any changes in dental health, sugar consumption, and snacking habits.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNutritional Counseling
Nutritional counseling based on Stephan's Curve. The Stephan's curve is a diagram that shows how the acidity of the oral cavity changes with consumption of food, specifically with added sugar. A laminated Stephan's curve will be used to show the drop of pH (acidity) based on the subject's reported daily consumption of food and snacks. Recommendations will be provided on a balanced diet according to the American Dental Association guidelines and recommendations on reducing the frequency of snacking.
Sponsors
Loma Linda University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
A convenience sample of 100 participants will be enrolled for the study. Selection of participants will concur to a written consent primarily based on voluntary agreement. For each participant the following procedures will be performed: 1. Record a thorough health history from each subject regarding past and present family health conditions and demographic information including demographic information, including age, gender, and race/ethnicity. 2. For the control group an oral examination to visually assess the DMFT scores will be performed and added sugar consumption will be calculated using the online application, Sugar Intake Calculator, with no additional nutritional counseling tool utilized. 3. For the intervention group, an oral examination to visually assess the DMFT scores will be performed and added sugar consumption will be calculated using the online application, Sugar Intake Calculator, with the intervention of Stephan's curve as a nutritional tool.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Subjects are 18 years or older * Subjects who will comply with study protocol * Subjects who can read and speak English * Subjects available during the study period
Exclusion criteria
* Subjects under the age of 18 * Subjects have less than 20 teeth
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in snacking frequency between baseline and 2 weeks | Time frame is two weeks: from baseline to the 2 weeks follow-up visit | Subjects will self-report the snacking frequency per day at baseline and at 2 weeks. Snacking is defined as any food intake besides breakfast, lunch and dinner. |
| Change in amount of added sugar consumption during snacking between baseline and 2 weeks. | Time frame is two weeks: from baseline to the 2 weeks follow-up visit | Added sugar consumption will be calculated using the Sugar intake calculator app at baseline and at 2 weeks follow-up. The sugar intake calculator is a free app that can generate the amount of added sugar in snacks, providing the amount in grams. Subjects will self-report the snacks that they have been consuming. The added sugar threshold for cavities is set at 40 gram/day. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in DMFT score between baseline two weeks | Time frame is two weeks: from baseline to the 2 weeks follow-up visit | Caries experiences is expressed as Decayed, Missing, Filled teeth and can range from 0 to 28. The higher the score the higher the caries experiences. The study investigators are going visually examine subjects' teeth and determine the DMFT score. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed