[Relationships between development and adaptability to recumbent position brushing in preschool children]

This study was carried out to clearly establish a relationship between development and adaptability to recumbent position brushing in preschool children. We investigated the behavior of 98 normal children, under 6 years of age, while being brushed by their mothers who laid the children on their backs. Their developmental ages were estimated by Enjoji's Infant Analytic Development Test. The results were as follows: 1. 89.8% of the subjects' mothers brushed their children's teeth more than once per day. 2. The rate of the subjects observed displaying unsuitable behavior by interfering in the brushing with their hands was 20.4%. The rate of subjects who interfered by moving their bodies or heads was 17.3%, by closing their mouths, 15.3%, and by biting the toothbrush or crying was 13.3%. 3. 78.6% of the children readily adapted to recumbent position brushing, while 21.4% of the children were found to be unsuitable for the method. 4. 12.2% of the mothers held their children down while brushing their teeth. However, even with the occurrence of unsuitable behavior, 9.2% of the mothers did not restrain their children. 5. A significant relationship was observed between adaptability to the recumbent position brushing method and the developmental age of the subjects. 6. The developmental age (determined by Enjoi's Infant Analytic Developmental Test) at which the children were able to adapt to the method was about 2 years and 6 months. 7. It became clear to us that children over 2 years and 6 months developmental age will readily adapt to the recumbent position brushing method.