Dental knowledge, attitude and behavior in 12-year-old Dutch suburban children

A questionnaire on dental knowledge, attitude and behavior was presented to Dutch suburban children in the 6th grade (n = 399). The mean age was 12.3 years. The children scored relatively high on knowledge and attitude. Girls scored better on knowledge and attitude than boys. However, the differences were small. Between socioeconomic classes no differences were found in knowledge scores. The attitude of the higher socioeconomic classes was more positive than that of the lower classes. With regard to behavior more than 90% of the children reported that they have their own toothbrush, use toothpaste containing fluoride and visit the dentist every 6 months. Further it was found that 69% eat sweets several times a day, 53% offer sweets in school when they celebrate their birthday, 28% brush their teeth less than twice a day, 45% sometimes forget to brush their teeth and 44% use fluoride tablets. No clear differences in behavior between boys and girls were found. The higher the socioeconomic class of the children the higher the toothbrushing frequency, the more fluoride tablets are used and the lower the sweet consumption frequency. Although almost all children stated that their parents consider toothbrushing important, 24% were not supervised. It is also suggested that effectiveness of dental health education on behavior should not be evaluated in short term studies.