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The ‘Shine!’ intervention is a semi-structured interview method primarily developed for oral healthcare professionals (OHPs), with the aim to improve parenting skills related to tooth brushing. The interview method focuses on 1) identification of parents’ barriers to tooth brushing, and 2) exploration of possible approaches to tackle the identified barriers. The intervention applies principles from learning theory, with emphasis on stimulus control, operant conditioning and authoritative parenting.

This clustered non-randomised controlled trial is conducted in 40 general dental practices in The Netherlands. Dental practices in the intervention group (n = 20) are implementing the ‘Shine!’ intervention in addition to care as usual, while control practices only provide care as usual. From each dental practice, a random sample of ten three-year-old children is recruited. The intervention consists of two interview sessions between the parent and an OHP (both with a telephone follow-up after one week), in which possible approaches for identified barriers and action points are discussed. Outcome measures of the study include: 1) children’s tooth brushing behaviour 2) parents’ self-efficacy in relation to tooth brushing and 3) children’s caries experience over a period of 24 months. Differences in outcomes between the intervention and control group are assessed using logistic and zero-inflated negative binomial regression. In addition, a process evaluation is conducted to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the 'Shine!' intervention.

The hypothesis is that the 'Shine!' intervention will result in parents having better parenting skills and a higher self-efficacy to twice daily brush their children’s teeth, resulting in better oral hygiene and less dental caries development in children.

T0 (baseline), T1 (6 months after baseline) and T2 (24 months after baseline).

All children, in both the intervention and control group, are receiving standard preventive and restorative dental care (care as usual), consisting of regular dental check-ups, dental health education and if indicated, fluoride application and / or restorative caries treatment. Parents of children in the intervention group are also receiving the 'Shine' intervention, in addition to care as usual.



The ‘Shine!' intervention is a semi-structured interview method primarily developed for oral healthcare professionals, with the aim to improve parenting skills related to tooth brushing. The interview method focuses on 1) identification of parents’ barriers to tooth brushing, and 2) exploration of possible approaches to tackle the identified barriers. The intervention applies principles from learning theory, with emphasis on stimulus control, operant conditioning and authoritative parenting. The intervention consists of two interview sessions between the parent and an oral health professional, both with a telephone follow-up after one week. Oral health professionals who will provide the intervention are receiving two days of training and supporting material (semi-structured script and cards) to guide the interview.