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How pre-school children learn to brush their teeth in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
F A Khadri1, V K Gopinath, M P Hector
1Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
Insights
Mothers primarily introduce tooth brushing to preschool children in Sharjah, UAE, starting around 16 months. Parental supervision is crucial, especially for younger children, though no link exists between parent and child brushing behavior.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health
Background:
- Establishing early oral hygiene practices is vital for long-term dental health in children.
- Parental involvement significantly influences a child's oral hygiene behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the tooth brushing habits of preschool children in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- To determine the extent and nature of parental supervision in children's tooth brushing routines.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 100 preschool children under 6 years old.
- Data collected via a standard, piloted questionnaire on socio-demographics and oral hygiene practices.
Main Results:
- Tooth brushing commenced at a mean age of 16 months.
- Mothers introduced brushing habits to 70% of children.
- 80% of children aged 3+ years had their brushing supervised by mothers, with younger children receiving more frequent supervision.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children in Sharjah begin brushing around 16 months, with mothers playing a key role.
- Maternal supervision is common, particularly for children over 25 months.
- No correlation was found between mothers' and children's brushing behaviors.
Objective:
The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess tooth brushing habits of pre-school children and to determine the role and amount of supervision given to them by their parents.
Method:
One hundred pre-school children below 6 years were selected from Maternal and Child Health Center, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates, UAE). A standard piloted questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic details and information on oral hygiene practise.
Results:
Tooth brushing was stared at a mean age of 16 months. Thirty-seven per cent of the pre-schoolers used a toothbrush for cleaning their teeth and the brushing habits were mainly (70%) introduced by mothers. The majority (80%) of children's tooth brushing at the age of 3 years and above was supervised by mothers. Younger children were frequently supervised in tooth brushing than older children (P < 0.05)
Conclusions:
In summary, pre-school children of Sharjah (UAE) were introduced to tooth brushing at a mean age of 16 months. Mothers played a pivotal role in introducing and teaching the child how to brush. There was no positive correlation between the brushing behaviour of the mothers and their children. In most cases, the children's brushing was supervised by their mother when they were above 25 months of age. In children less than 12 months of age tooth brushing was not started at all.
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