Introduction: Cariogenic food intake and oral health knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of parents are contributing factors that influence the oral health status of children. As there is lack of a validated questionnaire in Bahasa Melayu (the Malay language) to measure the factors, this cross-sectional study was carried out to establish a linguistically valid and reliable cariogenic food frequency questionnaire (M-CFFQ) and oral health kap questionnaire (M-OHKAPQ) in Bahasa Melayu, for parents of children aged 6-11 years in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Methods: Relevant questionnaires in English were selected and translated to Malay language. This process included forward translation, synthesis, backward translation and consolidation to produce the preliminary drafts of M-CFFQ and M-OHKAPQ. Pretesting was conducted on ten parents of children from a primary school in Kota Bharu by face-to-face interview. The findings were reviewed to produce the final versions of M-CFFQ and M-OHKAPQ. A test-retest reliability study was undertaken involving 49 parents. The participants were asked to answer the final M-CFFQ and M-OHKAPQ versions twice, within a 7-14 days interval. Data collected were entered into IBM SPPS version 22 software and analysed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) test. Results: Semantic, idiomatic, experiential, conceptual as well as content and face validity issues were successfully resolved. Fifteen categories of food/drinks for M-CFFQ and 26 items/questions M-OHKAPQ were produced. The total ICC values achieved for M-CFFQ and M-OHKAPQ were 0.887 and 0.807, respectively. Conclusion: The M-CFFQ and M-OHKAPQ appeared to be linguistically valid and reliable with excellent test-retest reliability (ICC>0.80).

Introduction: Previous studies have established an association between 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taster and dietary intake. However, those studies mostly emphasised on macronutrients. The present study examined the dietary intake, including macro- and micronutrients, and caries experience among university students according to their PROP taster status. Methods: A total of 158 university students participated in this study. PROP taster status was determined using filter paper method. Dietary intake was collected using 24-hour diet recall method. Oral health examination was conducted to determine dental caries experience. Results: The results showed that majority of subjects were supertasters. No significant differences (p>0.05) were found in the macronutrient intakes among supertasters, medium tasters, and non-tasters. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found in the intakes of micronutrients, namely pantothenic acid, vitamin D, magnesium, manganese, and fluoride. There were no significant differences among group tasters in the dental caries experience scores of decayed (D), missing (M), and filled (F) teeth. Conclusion: In general, this study indicated that all group tasters had no difference in macronutrients intake and caries experience, but supertasters had significantly lower intakes of some micronutrients as compared to non-tasters and medium tasters. This suggested that PROP taster status could have some influence on micronutrient intakes.

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the association between nutrient intake, oral symptoms, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among antenatal mothers in the Sri Aman district, Sarawak. Methods: A total of 124 antenatal mothers in the second and third trimesters, through systematic random sampling, participated in this cross-sectional study. A validated selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect their socioeconomic and obstetric profiles, perceived oral health status, and OHRQoL. Three days 24-hour diet recall assessment involving two weekdays and one weekend day was used for nutrient intake assessment. Results: Most mothers (75.0%) had at least one oral symptom: cavitated tooth (51.6%), bleeding gum (32.3%), halitosis (27.4%), gum pain (13.7%), toothache (12.1%), and swollen gum (6.5%). Most mothers also had inadequate intakes of energy, vitamin D, iodine, calcium, zinc, fluoride, and iron. The most affected OHRQoL domain was psychological discomfort, followed by functional limitation and physical pain. Nutrient intake was not significantly different between antenatal mothers with and without oral symptoms. Antenatal mothers with at least one oral symptom, presence of toothache, cavitated tooth, bleeding gum, and halitosis had significantly lower OHRQoL. Conclusion: Most antenatal mothers had inadequate nutrient intake, particularly vitamin D and calcium. Nutrient intake was not significantly associated with oral symptoms. The oral symptoms of dental caries and periodontal disease were prevalent; and the presence of toothache, cavitated tooth, bleeding gum, and halitosis were associated with poor OHRQoL.

Introduction: Nutritional requirements of pregnant women differ considerably from those of non-pregnant women. Nutritional status during pregnancy is critical to maintain health, including oral health, and to promote growth and development of the baby. This study assessed dietary pattern, nutrient intake, and oral symptoms among pregnant women. Methods: Seventy-one women with singleton pregnancy attending a public healthcare centre in Malaysia participated in this cross-sectional study. Dietary pattern and nutrient intake of the women were assessed using food frequency questionnaire and 3-day 24-hour diet recall, respectively. Information on sociodemographic and obstetric profiles, and oral symptoms were obtained from self-administered questionnaire. Results: White rice, chicken, green leafy vegetables, granulated sugar, and salt were foods most consumed. Intakes of iron, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, zinc, and fluoride for most respondents were below Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI). Cavitated tooth (46.5%), bleeding gums (35.2%), pain upon eating and drinking (23.9%), and bad breath (23.9%) were common oral symptoms reported. Significant association was found between complaint of brown, yellow, and white spots on tooth surface with vitamin A intake, and between complaint of bleeding gums with zinc intake. Conclusion: Intake of most nutrients by most respondents in this study was below the RNI. Oral symptoms were common and a few were associated with nutrient intakes.

Introduction: Poor feeding patterns increase risk of Early Childhood Caries (ECC), which can cause negative impacts on oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) of preschool children and parents. This study aims to assess feeding patterns of preschool children and OHQoL of the children and their parents in Tanah Merah. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 134 preschool children aged 5-6 years old from eight private preschools, chosen by multi-staged stratified cluster sampling. Parents answered adopted self-administered questionnaire on feeding patterns and oral health-related impacts. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the median between groups of feeding patterns. Results: A total of 122 parents responded. Majority of the children had history of bottle-feeding (97.5%) and being given solid food during infancy (61.2%). Many children were still using bottle to drink (38.5%). Majority were still given formula milk at least three times daily (51.1%) and were feed with bottle to put to sleep (97.9%). The Child Impact Section (CIS), Family Impact Section (FIS) and Overall ECOHIS mean scores were 2.39 (SD=3.41), 0.71 (SD=1.45) and 3.10 (SD=4.41), respectively. Most common impact reported in CIS was ‘oral pain’ (26.2%) whereas in FIS, ‘parents felt guilty’ (7.4%). None of feeding patterns were found significantly different in terms of ECOHIS score median (p-value>0.05). Children OHQoL reporting by proxy should be treated as complementary. Conclusion: Many preschool children were involved in prolonged, frequent and nocturnal bottle-feeding. No significant difference in median ECOHIS scores found according to feeding patterns.