{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T19:05:26Z","timestamp":1782846326801,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Mhealth Uhealth"],"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n Background<\/jats:title>\n Parental oral health education is critical for preventing early childhood caries. However, few interventions are theoretically grounded or use digital approaches.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a health belief model\u2013based digital intervention on maternal oral health behaviors.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This quasi-experimental study enrolled 648 mother-child dyads from 19 community health care centers (CHCs) in Beijing, China. CHCs were allocated to intervention or control groups depending on their voluntary adoption of the dental referral system. Ten CHCs (n=332, 52.6%) were assigned to the intervention group, where mothers received oral health education materials and had access to a dental referral system. The remaining 9 CHCs (n=316, 47.4%) served as the control group, in which mothers continued to receive standard child health care services. The primary outcome was parent-assisted toothbrushing, and the secondary outcome included other oral health behaviors, including night feeding practices, sugar intake, and dental visits. To evaluate the intervention effects on behavioral outcomes, generalized linear mixed models were used, accounting for repeated measures and potential confounding factors.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Compared with the control group, the intervention group demonstrated a significant increase in parent-assisted toothbrushing, with an absolute difference of 10.3 (95% CI 3.0 to 17.6;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n =.006) percentage points at 6 months and 1.5 (95% CI \u22127.2 to 10.1;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n =.74) percentage points at 12 months. Additionally, dental visit rates were significantly higher in the intervention group at 12 months (odds ratio 4.65, 95% CI 1.30 to 16.70;\n P<\/jats:italic>\n =.02). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between groups in nighttime feeding cessation or sugar intake control at either the 6- or 12-month follow-ups.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n The health belief model\u2013based digital intervention was effective in the short term for enhancing parent-assisted toothbrushing in young children, but its long-term effectiveness remains unproven. Future research should therefore prioritize exploring sustainability strategies.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/79002","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]],"date-time":"2026-04-21T00:25:08Z","timestamp":1776731108000},"page":"e79002-e79002","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Theory-Based Digital Intervention to Improve Maternal Oral Health Behaviors for Young Children: Quasi-Experimental Study"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6939-8807","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mei","family":"Zhao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3367-1922","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3718-2735","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shiyu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0070-7562","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaoyue","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7863-3316","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chun","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6781-8495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qingping","family":"Yun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,22]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jicd.12376","article-title":"Prevalence of early childhood caries among 5-year-old children: a systematic review","volume":"10","author":"Chen","journal-title":"J Investig Clin Dent"},{"issue":"10159","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1789","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)32279-7","article-title":"Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017","volume":"392","author":"GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"issue":"8","key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1066","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2018.304466","article-title":"Prevalence and data availability of early childhood caries in 193 United Nations Countries, 2007-2017","volume":"108","author":"El Tantawi","journal-title":"Am J Public Health"},{"issue":"3","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.3290\/j.cjdr.a41076","article-title":"Dental caries status and its associated factors among 3- to 5-year-old children in China: a national survey","volume":"21","author":"Du","journal-title":"Chin J Dent Res"},{"issue":"1","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.4172\/johh.1000107","article-title":"Early childhood caries: a literature review","volume":"1","author":"Fung","journal-title":"J Oral Hyg Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1745-7599.2008.00367.x","article-title":"Assessment, management, and prevention of early childhood caries","volume":"21","author":"Kagihara","journal-title":"J Am Acad Nurse Pract"},{"issue":"3","key":"R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1111\/ipd.12484","article-title":"Early childhood caries epidemiology, aetiology, risk assessment, societal burden, management, education, and policy: global perspective","volume":"29","author":"Tinanoff","journal-title":"Int J Paediatr Dent"},{"issue":"3","key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1111\/1753-6405.13224","article-title":"Dental visits in early life: patterns and barriers among Australian children","volume":"46","author":"Trinh","journal-title":"Aust N Z J Public Health"},{"key":"R9","unstructured":"Child oral health: habits in Australian homes. 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