Background
Globally, oral diseases contribute to major disease problems and oral health disparities persistently
exist amongst vulnerable population groups. Two contributory factors to these challenges
are the shortage of dental practitioners and the characteristic separation between
the medical and dental professions. Nurses and midwives, in particular, are in a potentially
excellent position to assist in basic oral health services such as dental health education and
intraoral screening. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of integrating promotion of oral
health of young children and their mothers into nursing and midwifery practice.
Methods and Findings
Seven electronic databases including CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, GLOBAL HEALTH,
CINHAL, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched whereas conference
proceedings and theses were retrieved via PROQUEST. Only randomized, non-randomized
trials and observational studies on preventive oral health programs delivered by nurses or
midwives in healthcare settings or through home visits were included. Two investigators
reviewed full-text articles independently to decide on eligibility for inclusion. Quality assessment
was done using Cochrane tool for risk of bias for randomized trials and Downs and
Black assessment tool for all other studies. Out of 3162 retrieved records, twenty one trials
on oral health interventions incorporated into standard nursing practice were reviewed.
Eighteen programs reported significant positive outcomes including reduction in caries
experience, better oral hygiene and dietary habits and increased rates of dental visits
amongst young children as reported by their caregivers.
Conclusions
Incorporating oral health promotion into nursing practice is a promising initiative for reducing
oral health disparities by contributing to a downward trend in caries experience and
increased access to dental care especially amongst the poor disadvantaged communities.