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Children's Toothbrushing Practices Recommended on the Internet by Pediatric Dentistry Associations
Branca Heloisa de Oliveira1, Barbara Monteiro Grisolia2, Ana Paula Pires Dos Santos3
1Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. branca@uerj.br.
Insights
Few National Associations of Pediatric Dentistry in the Americas offer online guidance on children's toothbrushing. Available information on fluoride, brushing frequency, and supervision often lacks consensus or scientific backing.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health Communication
- Oral Hygiene
Background:
- National Associations of Pediatric Dentistry (NAPD) play a role in disseminating oral hygiene recommendations.
- Online platforms are increasingly used to reach parents and the public with health information.
- Understanding the current online recommendations for children's toothbrushing is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the online recommendations provided by North and South American NAPD for children's toothbrushing practices.
- To assess the availability and content of layperson-oriented toothbrushing advice from these associations.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry (IAPD) and Latin American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (ALOP) websites and social media was conducted in February 2015.
- Efforts were made to identify NAPD websites and gather information on their online recommendations.
- Data was collected from NAPD that provided information on children's toothbrushing practices.
Main Results:
- Of 35 countries in the Americas, 19 had NAPD with an online presence, and 11 provided usable data.
- All surveyed NAPD offered advice on fluoride concentration and initiation of toothbrushing.
- Recommendations varied widely regarding toothpaste amount, frequency, timing, supervision, and rinsing, with a lack of consensus observed.
Conclusions:
- A limited number of NAPD in the Americas provide online guidance on children's toothbrushing for parents.
- The available online information is inconsistent, with some recommendations being potentially controversial, outdated, or lacking robust scientific evidence.
- There is a need for improved and standardized online resources from dental associations to support effective children's oral hygiene practices.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to describe online recommendations by North and South American National Associations of Pediatric Dentistry (NAPD), intended for laypersons, concerning children's toothbrushing practices.
Methods:
In February 2015, the International Association of Pediatric Dentistry (IAPD) website and the Latin American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (ALOP) Facebook webpage were searched to identify which countries had NAPD. Attempts were made to obtain the electronic addresses of ALOP national member societies, and Google and Facebook were used to identify NAPD not found using the previous strategies.
Results:
Of the 35 countries in North and South America, 19 had NAPD that were shown on the Internet, and 11 of them provided data for the study. All NAPD gave advice on fluoride concentrations in toothpaste and when to start toothbrushing; most made recommendations on the amount of toothpaste, toothbrushing frequency, and when to brush, and a few gave advice on toothbrushing supervision and rinsing after toothbrushing. There was no consensus on most of the recommendations that were evaluated.
Conclusions:
Only a few National Associations of Pediatric Dentistry from the Americas provide online information for parents and laypersons concerning children's toothbrushing practices. Of the information provided, some are either controversial, outdated or lack scientific evidence.
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