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Parenting and child behaviour as predictors of toothbrushing difficulties in young children
Mikaela Berzinski1, Alina Morawska1, Amy E Mitchell1
1Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Insights
Parental oral health knowledge is key to ensuring young children brush their teeth regularly. Addressing child behavior and household routines can help overcome toothbrushing challenges.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oral Health
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Oral diseases are common in children.
- Many Australian families do not follow recommended twice-daily toothbrushing.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify barriers to regular toothbrushing in young children.
- Investigate factors influencing toothbrushing frequency and parental perception of difficulty.
Main Methods:
- Online survey of 239 parents of children aged 0-4 years.
- Hierarchical linear regression analysis to identify predictors.
Main Results:
- Parental oral health knowledge significantly predicts toothbrushing frequency.
- Child behavior and household organization predict perceived difficulty.
- Parental factors were less predictive of perceived difficulty than child and family factors.
Conclusions:
- Findings inform interventions to support parental oral health practices.
- Highlights the need to address child-specific behaviors and family routines.
Background:
Oral disease is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions affecting children. Twice-daily toothbrushing is recommended to promote good oral health; however, a large proportion of Australian families are not meeting this recommendation.
Aim:
This study aimed to identify important barriers to regular toothbrushing for young children.
Design:
In this study, 239 parents of 0- to 4-year-old children completed an online survey that investigated child, family, and parent factors associated with child toothbrushing. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify predictors of toothbrushing frequency in children and perceived difficulty of the task by parents.
Results:
We found that parent factors, specifically oral health knowledge, were the most significant predictors of toothbrushing frequency. Conversely, parent factors did not contribute significantly to the prediction of perceived difficulty of toothbrushing once family and child factors were taken into account. Oral health knowledge and use of routines were identified as the most important predictors of toothbrushing frequency, whereas resistant child behaviour and household organisation were found to be the most important predictors of perceived difficulty of regular toothbrushing.
Conclusions:
The findings of the study have implications for behavioural interventions to support parents, as well as directions for future research.
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