Browsing by Author "Skaare, B. Anne"

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    Child saliva microbiota and caries:
    (Scientifc Reports, 2022) Muhoozi, K. M. Grace; Li, Kelvin; Atukunda, Prudence; Skaare, B. Anne; Willumsen, Tiril; Enersen, Morten; Westerberg, C. Ane; Morris, Alison; Vieira, R. Alexandre; Iversen, O. Per; Methé, A. Barbara
    Undernutrition is a public health challenge in sub-Saharan countries, including Uganda. In a previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a nutrition, hygiene and stimulation education intervention among mothers of 6 months’ old children, we found less caries in the intervention group when the children were 36 months of age. We now examined the efects of (i) the intervention on the microbiota, (ii) microbiota on caries, and (iii) the intervention and microbiota on caries. The original RCT comprised 511 mother/child pairs whereas in the current study we had access to data from 344/511 (67%) children aged 36 months. The saliva microbiota was determined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Carious lesions (a proxy for dental health) were identifed using close-up intra-oral photographs of the upper front teeth. Statistical models were used to determine hostmicrobiota associations. The intervention had a signifcant efect on the microbiota, e.g. an increase in Streptococcus abundance and decreases in Alloprevotella and Tannerella. Signifcant associations between the microbiota and dental caries were identifed: Positive associations of Capnocytophaga and Tannerella suggest that these taxa may be deleterious to dental health while negative associations of Granulicatella, Fusobacterium, and Abiotrophia suggest taxa potentially benefcial or benign contributors to dental health. Based on taxonomic profles, the efects of the intervention and microbiota on dental health may be independent of one another. Educational interventions with emphasis on nutrition and oral hygiene may provide a feasible strategy to decrease progression of childhood caries in low-resource settings.
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    Long-Term Effects of a Randomized Maternal Education Trial in Rural Uganda:
    (The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2022) Engh, S. Marit; Muhoozi, K. M. Grace; Ngari, Moses; Skaare, B. Anne; Westerberg, C. Ane; Iversen, O. Per; Brusevold, J. Ingvild; Atukunda, Prudence
    The aim was to examine oral health among 5–6-year-old children whose mothers participated in a 6 months’ cluster-randomized education trial in rural Uganda starting when their children were 6–8 months old. The education focused on nutrition, oral hygiene, and child stimulation. In the current follow-up study, 357/511 (70%) children from the original trial were available for data collection (200 in the intervention and 157 in the control group). Molar caries was assessed on intraoral photographs. Children and/or caregivers answered a WHO health questionnaire for collection of oral data. Dental practices were compared between the intervention and control group using multilevel mixed effect logistic regression accounting for clustering. The children in the intervention group had less caries compared with the control group: 41% versus 60% (odds ratio [OR] 0.46; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.24–0.86, P 5 0.02). The use of toothbrush to clean teeth was more frequent in the intervention than in the control group: 66% versus 38% (OR 3.39; 95% CI 1.54–7.45, P 5 0.003), as was high teeth-cleaning frequency: 74% versus 62% (OR 1.72; 95% CI 1.09–2.69, P 5 0.02). Self-reported problems such as toothache (10% versus 19%), difficulty biting (12% versus 24%) and chewing food (8.5% versus 18%) were significantly less frequent among children in the intervention compared with the control group. No significant differences were found in dietary habits. Our data shows that an educational intervention adjusted to a low-resource setting, provided in infancy, resulted in improved oral hygiene and reduced development of dental caries among children aged 5–6 years.