AzTrials
AzTrials

Dental Caries in ChildrenNCT06898918

Maternal Control of the Child's Feeding, Child's Eating Behavior and Early Childhood Caries in Preschoolers

An observational study of Dental Caries in Children and Diet Habit, run by Ain Shams University at 1 site in Egypt.

Enrolling by invitation

Enrolling by invitation. The study team selects and invites participants, usually from an existing group of patients.

Sites and contacts
Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Dental caries in children is considered one of the most prevalent oral diseases of this age group, leading to significant manifestations presenting as pain, interference with feeding, higher risk of developing dental caries in both, primary and permanent dentition. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 3 to 5 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
How many people
208 participants
Where
1 siteEgypt
Study dates
1 Jan 2025to 30 Mar 2027
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 3 to 5 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Study population: Mother-child pairs attending the Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University will be recruited and enrolled in the current study

Who may be able to join

  • Egyptian mothers and preschool children pairs aging from 3-5 years old, and currently residing in Egypt.
  • Mothers who live with the child in the same household

Who cannot join

  • Participants who refuse to consent to participate in the study.
  • Mothers with any medical health condition (physical or mental) that interferes with responding to the questionnaires.
  • Children with special health care needs (mental or physical).
  • Medically compromised children (Diabetic, renal problems, liver problems, respiratory problems…etc.) as their condition or the medications they consume might interfere with their oral health status.
  • Children whose siblings have previously participated in the study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Egypt1 site

  • Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University

    Cairo

Other trials in Egypt

About this study

Official title: Association Between Maternal Control of the Child's Feeding, Child's Eating Behavior and Early Childhood Caries in Preschoolers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Dental caries in children is considered one of the most prevalent oral diseases of this age group, leading to significant manifestations presenting as pain, interference with feeding, higher risk of developing dental caries in both, primary and permanent dentition. Dietary practices, along with the presence of bacteria in the oral cavity have been shown to be inextricably linked to the presence of dental caries. The latest evidence has demonstrated that certain types of eating behavioral traits in children could influence the development of dental caries.

Read the detailed description

Dental caries in children is considered one of the most prevalent oral diseases of this age group, leading to significant manifestations presenting as pain, interference with feeding, higher risk of developing dental caries in both, primary and permanent dentition, as well as worse repercussions on the permanent successors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) global oral health status report of 2022, 514 million children -worldwide- have been affected by dental caries in their primary teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) refers to this type of dental caries in primary teeth as "early childhood caries" and defines it as the existence of one or more decayed, missed, or filled tooth surface due to dental caries in children less than six years of age.

It has been studied in depth that dental caries is a multi-factorial disease of a complex nature with behavioral, as well as social factors playing a vital role in its etiology. Dietary practices, along with the presence of bacteria in the oral cavity have been shown to be inextricably linked to the presence of dental caries. The latest evidence has demonstrated that certain types of eating behavioral traits in children could, in a way, influence the development of dental caries.

Moreover, family structure could be an additional, recently confirmed factor to contemplate in regards to the etiology of dental caries. For example, it has been shown that parents, as the primary caregiver of the child, could influence the eating habits of their preschool children. This could occur through parents choosing the food they consider "appropriate" for their child, modelling, creating specific patterns of feeding for the child and adopting particular food practices to reinforce eating behaviors in their children.

Several questionnaires that assess the child's eating behavioral traits as well as parental control of the child's feeding have been found in the literature, among which, the most frequently used are the "Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ)" and the "Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ)". Both questionnaires have been shown to have good psychometric properties and both have been validated and translated to Arabic language in recent studies.

Research suggests that evidence on the relationship between children's eating behavior and dental caries is scanty. Additionally, the association between parental control in child feeding and dental caries has been investigated in a limited number of studies. To our knowledge, to date, this type of research has not been previously conducted in Egypt. On that account, this study has been developed with the aim of investigating the relationship between parental control in child feeding, child's eating behavior and dental caries in a number of Egyptian preschool children.

Medical subject headings
Feeding Behavior, Body Weight

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Early childhood caries

    Early childhood caries will be assessed using decayed, missing, and filled tooth index (dmft)

    Measured: January 2025 - June 2026

Secondary outcomes (1)

  1. Oral hygiene condition (oral debris)

    The Debris Index-Simplified (DI-S), a component of the Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) by Silness and Loe will be used to evaluate the oral hygiene of children.

    • Six index teeth will be assessed to obtain a final score: The labial/buccal surface of the primary maxillary right central incisor, primary mandibular left central incisor, primary maxillary right second molar, and primary maxillary left second molar. Whereas the lingual surface of the primary mandibular left and right second molar will be evaluated.

    Measured: January 2025 - March 2027

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted27 Mar 2025
  2. Study start1 Jan 2025
  3. Primary completion30 Jun 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 Mar 2027 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Other
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
208 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06898918
Sponsor's protocol ID
1315
Status last verified
Mar 2025
First submitted
21 Mar 2025
Last updated
27 Mar 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Bonotto DV, Montes GR, Ferreira FM, Assuncao LRDS, Fraiz FC. Association of parental attitudes at mealtime and snack limits with the prevalence of untreated dental caries among preschool children. Appetite. 2017 Jan 1;108:450-455. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.11.007. Epub 2016 Nov 3.

    PubMed 27818303

  • Mosli RH. Validation of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Saudi pre-schoolers in Jeddah city. Public Health Nutr. 2020 Mar;23(4):599-608. doi: 10.1017/S1368980019002581. Epub 2019 Sep 13.

    PubMed 31516100

  • Shqair AQ, Dos Santos Motta JV, da Silva RA, do Amaral PL, Goettems ML. Children's eating behaviour traits and dental caries. J Public Health Dent. 2022 Mar;82(2):186-193. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12449. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

    PubMed 33719035

  • Birch LL, Fisher JO, Grimm-Thomas K, Markey CN, Sawyer R, Johnson SL. Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: a measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. Appetite. 2001 Jun;36(3):201-10. doi: 10.1006/appe.2001.0398.

    PubMed 11358344

  • Al-Hamad AH, Al-Naseeb AM, Al-Assaf MS, Al-Obaid SA, Al-Abdulkarim BS, Olszewski PK. Preliminary Exploration of Obesity-Related Eating Behaviour Patterns in a Sample of Saudi Preschoolers Aged 2-6 Years through the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Nutrients. 2021 Nov 20;13(11):4156. doi: 10.3390/nu13114156.

    PubMed 34836411

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Dental Caries in Children and Diet Habit, run by Ain Shams University at 1 site in Egypt.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: enrolling by invitation, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Mar 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Egypt. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Early childhood caries (time frame: January 2025 - June 2026). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06898918, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Mar 2025.

AzTrials uses cookies for analytics and advertising. You can accept or reject them; the site works either way. Privacy Policy.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in