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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04898465

Improving Family's Adherence to Dental Care After DGA (HECC-CAN-study)

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common disease. Its prevalence is highest in poor, socially disadvantaged, and minority groups. Dental treatment under General Anaesthesia (DGA) is common, especially among the youngest patients. Parental adherence to child's post-DGA dental treatment is varying. Non-attendance to preventive care appointments and dental check-ups after the DGA is also common. The primary aim of this study is to explore if a multi-professional (paediatrician and social worker) intervention after the child's DGA can increase the adherence to post-DGA dental care. The secondary aim is to compare its possible influence on children's oral health 18 months after the DGA. Our hypothesis is that multi-professional counselling and support after the DGA will lead to better adherence to the scheduled preventive dental programme and better oral health for these children in the long run.

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Key information

Conditions

Dental Caries Child Neglect Stomatognathic Diseases Tooth Demineralization Tooth Diseases

Age range

Up to 5 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

New Children's Hospital

Helsinki, Finland

About this study

In an earlier Finnish study 26% of the children did not attend to their first scheduled appointment after the DGA and during a four years follow-up period 63% of the patients had one or more no-shows.

Based on the assumption that reducing the amount of no-shows to half of the reported earlier (60% vs. 30%) is a clinically relevant result, we need 42 patients for both groups (alpha 0.05, beta 0.2, power 0.8).

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • reason for DGA is dental caries
  • place of birth is Finland
  • primary dentition

Exclusion criteria

  • chronic disease which needs treatment in tertiary hospital

Treatment and study plan

Social Paediatric Intervention

Other

Family will meet the hospital's social-paediatrician and social worker. Together they will evaluate the need for social support, risk for neglect and refer families for local social services if needed. The visit will contain primary and secondary prophylaxis of child abuse and neglect.

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of uncancelled dental appointments after DGA

    Time frame: 0-18 months after the DGA

    Amount of unused or uncancelled dental appointment times after DGA

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of new decayed teeth after DGA

    Time frame: 0-18 months after the DGA

    Amount of caries lesions observed after DGA

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Helsinki University Central Hospital

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Improving Family's Adherence to Dental Care After Dental General Anaesthesia (DGA). Helsinki Early Childhood Caries - Child Abuse and Neglect-study. (HECC-CAN)

Acronym: HECC-CAN

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2024
First posted
May 24, 2021
Registry last updated
Sep 18, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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