Impact of Two Recall Intervals on Dental Caries Incidence and Other Outcomes of Preschool Children

Objectives: To assess the beneficial and harmful effects of two recall intervals on caries incidence (primary outcome) in preschool children with high caries risk. The level of anxiety, oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL), time and cost (secondary outcomes) according to each interval will also be assessed. Methods: The sample will consist of 224 children between 3-5 years of age, of both genders, with high caries risk according to the clinical criteria adapted from the Municipal Health Secretary of São Paulo. Children will be randomly allocated into two study groups: Group 1 (G1) - oral clinical examination + orientation for oral health and diet in return for 4 months; and Group 2 (G2) - oral clinical examination + orientation for oral health and diet in return for 8 months. An examiner calibrated and blinded to the study groups and the secondary outcomes will perform the clinical examinations, which consist of: gingival bleeding index, dental plaque index, detection of caries and its activity according to the ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System) and the clinical features of active and inactive caries lesions will be associated with the criteria discribed in ICDAS Commitee manual. An external dentist will conduct the assessment of the anxiety levels assessed by the Facial Image Scale, the OHRQoL measured by B-ECOHIS, the time and costs. All groups will be followed for an initial period of 16 months, totaling four follow-up visits for G1 and two follow-up visits to the G2. All analyzes will be performed by intention to treat (ITT) and considering the sensitivity analysis to assess the differences between the ITT analyzes and analyzes of complete cases.