Social determinants and behavioural factors influencing toothbrushing frequency among primary school children in rural A
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RESEARCH NOTE
Social determinants and behavioural factors influencing toothbrushing frequency among primary school children in rural Australian community of Lithgow, New South Wales Amit Arora1,2,3,4* , Subrat Nargundkar1, Paul Fahey1,2, Hema Joshua1 and James Rufus John2,5
Abstract Objective: This study aims to determine the social determinants and behavioural factors influencing frequency of toothbrushing among primary school children residing in the rural community of Lithgow in New South Wales, Australia. All six primary schools of Lithgow were approached to participate in a cross-sectional survey prior to implementation of water fluoridation. A validated oral health survey questionnaire was completed by 703 parents of the children. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to determine significant predictors associated with frequency of toothbrushing. Results: Parents with a positive attitude towards water fluoridation had 74% higher odds (OR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.17– 2.60) of their children brushing twice or more daily. Children living in a single parent household had 34% reduced odds (OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.43–0.99) of brushing twice daily. Poor maternal oral health was significantly associated with suboptimal dental hygiene practices in children, where mothers who had any tooth extracted had 7% reduced odds of their children brushing their teeth twice or more daily (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.90–0.97). Subsequently, children with increased consumption of chocolates per day were less likely to brush twice or more daily. Finally, children with dental insurance had two times higher odds (OR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.40–2.96) of brushing twice daily. Keyword: Toothbrushing, Socioeconomic status, Children, Rural, Non-fluoridated, Oral health Introduction Dental caries is recognised as a global public health concern [1]. Amongst 354 diseases considered in the Global Burden of Disease study (1990–2017), untreated dental caries was the most ubiquitous disease [2, 3]. In Australia, dental caries is the most common health issue in childhood [4]. The recent Australian National Child Oral *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, 24.2.97 Campbelltown Campus, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Health Survey (NCOHS) 2012–2014 reported that over 25% of 5 to 10-year-old children had untreated caries in the primary dentition, while one in ten children aged 6 to 14 years had untreated caries in the permanent dentition [5]. Although dental caries has imminent negative health consequences, it is largely preventable by regular toothbrushing with a fluoridated toothpaste along with other measures such as a low sugary diet, regular dental visits, and water fluoridation [6]. Toothbrushing using a fluoridated toothpaste is one of the most effective methods to prevent dental caries [7] and the motor skills required
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