Results
Randomization and group comparability Most mothers stayed in the group to which they have been allocated. Only five women (0.8%) from all women recruited to the trial changed the group to which they were randomly allocated once they
received information about the aims of the trial. All moved from the control group to the test group. In total 327 women were allocated to the test group and 322 women into the control group. The comparability of groups was examined for the
mother’s sociodemographical characteristics (e.g. age at enrollment, country of birth, main language spoken at home, marital status, education, income),their self-assessment of their general and oral health, oral hygiene practices, smoking habits and use of alcohol during pregnancy, planned or unplanned pregnancy, importance of healthy baby teeth and other characteristics. The only significant differences between the groups at baseline were in the use of dental floss (31.6% in the test group used versus 22.6% women in the control group; chi-square P < 0.01) and in the use of alcoholic drinks
during the pregnancy (12.4% in the test group compared with 7.4% in the control group; chi-square P < 0.05).