Tooth for Health Study

Thank you for contributing to the Tooth for Health Study.

We are proud to announce that the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has approved our proposal to conduct a new follow-up phase with National Child Oral Health Study (NCOHS) families.

This is a wonderful achievement and a clear recognition by the policy makers of the importance of child oral health. The scientific community needs quality research such as our NCOHS study in order to inform relevant policies and practices in improving child oral health.

We named the new phase 'Tooth for Health' to reflect the aims of the study that investigate links between dental and general health of children. Please visit About the Study below to learn more.

About the study

Child dental health is an important part of overall health. Child dental health is a result of a dynamic interaction between many factors, including their own general health. Understanding those factors is useful to ensure children have good health later in life. Therefore, it is important to study child dental health and its links with other factors. The information collected in NCOHS 2012–14 and in this phase, Tooth for Health, will be used to inform the Government and the health profession in developing appropriate policies and programs to ensure children have good dental health for life.

You and your family are invited to be part of the Tooth for Health study because of your kind participation in NCOHS 2012–14.

Please see our invitation and the participant information sheet (PDF, 217.4 KB) about the study.

Participation in the Tooth for Health study involves completion of a questionnaire, either online or hard copy. A small group of children and parents may be invited to complete a short interview.

Why should I help?

Your contribution to NCOHS 2012–14 has already made significant impact. Your participation in the new phase, Tooth for Health, will help us to understand about impact of different factors on child dental and general health.

Improving children's health is important and it should start as early as possible. We need your help in fulfilling that task.

Privacy

It is natural for you to be concerned about how your privacy will be protected. All information collected will be kept strictly confidential and is protected by strict guidelines as required by law (Privacy Act 1988), and the Australian Code of Responsible Conduct of Research (NHMRC 2018).

The study has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Adelaide (approval number H-2019-020) and the University of Queensland (approval number HE000656). If you have any questions or problems associated with the practical aspects of your participation in the project, or you wish to raise a concern or complaint about the project, please contact:

Principal Investigator

Professor Loc Do
l.do@uq.edu.au

Human Research Ethics Committee’s Secretariat

Phone: +61 7 3365 3924/+61 7 3443 1656

Email: humanethics@research.uq.edu.au

Our Commitment to You

Taking part in the project is voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time. Personal details that could identify you, or your family, will be removed from the research data prior to use by researchers.

Participation

We appreciate your contribution and understand your time is valuable. Your assistance will make a very valuable contribution towards improved child dental health in Australia.

We will send you a letter to invite you to participate. You can choose to complete the questionnaire online using a link sent to you.

If you prefer to fill in a paper-copy, please let us know. We will be happy to post it to you. Please remember to let us know your postal address.

If you have any question about the study or the questionnaire, please feel free to contact us.