The effect of parenting styles on enforcement of oral health behaviours in children
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ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE
The effect of parenting styles on enforcement of oral health behaviours in children S. J. Quek1 · Y. F. Sim2 · B. Lai1 · W. Lim3 · C. H. Hong4 Received: 5 October 2019 / Accepted: 3 May 2020 © European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry 2020
Abstract Purpose To examine the relationship between parenting styles and parental attitudes towards oral health practices in children. Methods Parents of children aged 4–6 years presenting to four public dental clinics completed the Parenting Styles Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) and a questionnaire on parental attitudes, child diet and oral hygiene practices. Child oral health was evaluated using Plaque Index (PI) and dmft-Index. Results Three hundred and eighty-nine children (mean age: 62.3 ± 9.8 months) were recruited. The median dmft was 4 (IQR = 9) and median PI was 1.5 (IQR = 0.8). An authoritative parenting style was observed in 95.1% of parents. Authoritative parents were more likely to monitor sweets/snacks intake (P = 0.004) and less inclined to offer sweets/snacks in exchange for good behaviour (P = 0.04) than permissive parents. However, actual between-meal snacking frequency did not differ between styles (P = 0.43). Permissive parents were less likely to ensure bedtime toothbrushing (P = 0.001) or brush thoroughly when busy or tired (P = 0.03) compared to authoritative parents; these attitudes were associated with higher frequencies of actual omission of bedtime toothbrushing (P = 0.006) in their children. A higher frequency of omitting bedtime toothbrushing significantly predicted a permissive parenting style (OR = 12.1, P = 0.009). Parenting styles were not associated with dmft (P = 0.72) and/or PI (P = 0.34). Conclusions Authoritative parenting was associated with positive attitudes regarding both preventive dietary and oral hygiene practices. Actual oral hygiene practices were more ideal in children with authoritative parents, but parenting styles had no impact on actual dietary habits. Keywords Parenting styles · Oral health behaviours · Caries · Oral hygiene · Paediatric dentistry
Introduction Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common childhood chronic disease and a public health challenge in many countries (Dye et al. 2007). Despite Singapore being a 100% fluoridated country, ECC prevalence remains high at 40.3% among 3–6 year olds (Gao et al. 2010). A recent local study investigating caries risk of pre-schoolers emphasised the need to direct preventive strategies at specific risk factors such as dietary habits and oral hygiene practices (Hong et al. 2014). Parents exert a significant influence on their child’s oral health as the child depends on them to provide preventive oral health practices. Thus, it seems reasonable that * S. J. Quek [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
parenting styles would influence child oral health practices. Four types of parenting styles are described in the literature—authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and uninvolved (Baumrind
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