University of Waterloo scientist joins global effort to reduce childhood dental disease

WATERLOO, Ont. (Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011) - A University of Waterloo health researcher is collaborating with colleagues around the world to develop a program to reduce incidences of childhood dental caries among First Nations populations.

The unique program designed for pregnant First Nations women will begin this spring in several communities across Ontario and Manitoba. First Nations populations have a higher-than-average rate of dental caries - a bacterial disease that results in tooth decay.

"Indigenous people in Canada, Australia and New Zealand experience a much larger burden of chronic diseases compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts," said co-investigator Laurie Hoffman-Goetz of Waterloo’s department of health studies and gerontology. "Extensive tooth decay among young Indigenous children is common, is linked to the development of other chronic diseases, and significantly reduces the quality of life for afflicted children, their families and communities. This international collaboration will provide a foundation for culturally-appropriate preventive dental care, oral health education and greater oral health literacy for pregnant Indigenous women, which will hopefully reduce oral disease for their children."

The Canadian arm of this project has received nearly $1.2 million in support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The team will focus on both clinical components, including treatment and fluoride applications, as well as health education and behavioural modification including anticipatory guidance and motivational interviewing. Results will be compared with those from the Australian and New Zealand teams.

Four other Canadian Universities will join the University of Waterloo for this investigation including the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Laurentian University), the University of Manitoba, the University College of the North, and the University of Toronto. The five-year study is called "Reducing disease burden and health inequalities arising from chronic dental disease among Indigenous children: an early childhood caries intervention."

"Early childhood caries is a significant health problem confronting Indigenous communities in all three countries," said Herenia Lawrence, the project's principal investigator from the University of Toronto's faculty of dentistry. "We hope that by working in partnership with Aboriginal communities here in Canada we can create an intervention that will reduce the dental treatment needs of young children and motivate mothers to subscribe to better preventative oral health practices."

Lawrence hopes the results can serve as a model for other communities. "Our long-term goal is to create a culturally appropriate intervention that reduces dental disease burden and health inequalities among pre-school Indigenous children in the participating countries and that can be readily applied to other populations with high levels of early childhood caries."

About Waterloo

The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, is one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities. Waterloo is home to 30,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who are dedicated to making the future better and brighter. Waterloo, known for the largest post- secondary co-operative education program in the world, supports enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.