At baseline (below three years of age) a simplified oral examination was performed. Children were examined sitting on their parents' laps in the dental chair or on a regular chair examined by the "lap to lap" method. At the first follow-up examination at three years old, the children sat either on parents' laps or alone in the dental chair. Procedures for the oral health examination of the intervention and of the control group at five years of age were the same. Examinations were performed using a mouth mirror and a dental probe under good lighting conditions. Caries and DDE were registered for all dental surfaces while index teeth were used for dental erosion, dental plaque and gingival bleeding. Bitewing radiographs (BW) were only taken in five year olds, when there were molar contacts. Parents with immigrant background were offered interpreting services if desired. All oral health examinations were conducted by the same two dentists who previously had collected the published inter- and intra-observer reliability data of the control group.