Relationships between parental education, choice of child dentifrice, and their children's caries experience

Knowledge and practices of Iranian students (13-16 age) regarding the use of fluoride toothpaste

INTRODUCTION

Fluoride is the main factor in reducing the prevalence of caries worldwide. However, there is insufficient knowledge about whether people in different age groups are aware of the benefits of fluoride toothpaste, as well as about people's daily oral care habits and whether they use fluoride. The purpose of this research is to investigate the knowledge and performance of Iranian students regarding the use of toothpaste containing fluoride.

METHOD

This study was conducted on the first- and second-year high school students of Kerman city. Questionnaires containing personal questions, general questions, and questions related to students' knowledge and performance regarding the use of fluoride toothpaste were provided to them and then they were asked to complete and submit it. The results obtained from the survey were analyzed by T-test, Mann-Whitney test, and Chi-Square test in SPSS Version 24. The significance level in data analysis was P < 0.05.

RESULTS

In this research, 681 forms including 252 boys and 429 girls were examined. The average age of the participants was 14.1 ± 0.4. 91.2% declared that they use toothpaste and 77.8% of them used toothpaste containing fluoride. 521 people stated that the price of toothpaste is important in using the type of toothpaste. 621 people used regular toothbrush and 609 people evaluated their oral health as good. 621 of the participants stated that toothpaste makes the mouth healthy. The average knowledge score was 16.7 ± 2.1 out of 24, which indicates the average knowledge of students in this field.

CONCLUSION

This study showed that students' knowledge and performance about using fluoride-containing toothpaste is average. There was no significant relationship between performance and knowledge with age and gender. There was also a positive correlation between knowledge and performance indicating that increasing knowledge leads to an increase in behavioral changes. Also, there was a positive correlation between knowledge and performance, and a correlation coefficient of 0.731 was obtained between knowledge and performance. It shows that increasing knowledge leads to increasing behavioral changes.

Dentist Mothers' Attitudes, Challenges and Facilitators in the Oral Health Promotion of Their Young Children

Twice daily parental supervised brushing (PSB) is recommended for the effective oral hygiene of children with toothpaste including fluoride. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify dentist mothers' attitudes, challenges, and facilitators in the oral health promotion of their young children. An online questionnaire was prepared and distributed to dentists via e-mail with a link to the form. Of all the mothers, 46.50% started brushing their children's teeth after the eruption of the first primary teeth. Nearly 50% of the mothers thought that they should brush their children's teeth until at least the age of 7-8 years old. In terms of the main barriers to toothbrushing, 52.9% said children could fall asleep at home or in the car, while 27.5% of all mothers reported being tired as the main barrier to toothbrushing. Although dentist mothers have sufficient knowledge to promote oral and dental health, they do not always have ideal attitudes and behaviors and they may encounter various barriers regarding themselves and their children in practical applications. Providing oral care for young children goes beyond 'knowledge' and is sometimes 'challenging'; however, it could be 'possible' by developing and implementing the most appropriate solution strategies suitable for each unique family and child.

What Do Mothers (or Caregivers) Know about Their Children’s Oral Hygiene? An Update of the Current Evidence

Tooth decay remains one of the most common diseases in children, although it is a preventable injury and despite significant advances that has been made in terms of attention and care for oral hygiene. Several studies have shown the association between prevalence of tooth decay in children and parents’ incorrect oral care habits, with a low educational level and a low socioeconomic background. The question that arises concerns the actual oral hygiene knowledge of mothers, fathers, family members or caregivers of young patients; therefore, the aim of this review is to investigate the genesis of gaps in the topic. A literature search was conducted through the Scopus and PubMed search engine and ended in May 2022; only studies from the past 20 years were included. Current evidence suggests that parents and caregivers still have little knowledge about their children’s oral health: there is not enough awareness about the importance of preventing oral diseases, due to poor attention to good oral hygiene but also lack of information from health professionals and institutions. In the future, all the professionals involved in the pregnant woman’s care should increase parents’ knowledge, solve their doubts, collect and compare data in order to design effective intervention programs.

Title Cross-Sectional Study to Evaluate Knowledge and Attitudes on Oral Hygiene of Romanian Students

Background and Objectives: the purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ level of knowledge and attitude towards oral hygiene. Materials and Methods: the evaluation was carried out by a questionnaire, with 30 Q (questions) as follows: demographic data (Q1–Q5), oral hygiene knowledge data (Q6–Q23) and oral hygiene attitude data (Q24–Q30). The study included students from Romanian schools and the selection of the study group was made following selection criteria in accordance with ethical issues. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed and a value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: the study included a number of 718 subjects with a mean age of 14.54 (±2.22), male 250 (34.8%) and female 468 (65.2%), MS (middle school students) 354 (49.4%) and HH (high school students) 364 (50.6%). Most of the subjects 292 (MS = 160; HS = 132) know a toothbrushing technique, p = 0.009, r = 0.091 and 587 (MS = 278; HS = 309) know that brushing removes the bacterial plaque p = 0.027, r = −0.082 but only 147 (MS = 71; HS = 76) know that (by) brushing can re-mineralize hard dental structures. The duration of the toothbrushing is variable, for 2- or 3-min p = 0.058, r = 0.043. Criteria for choosing the toothbrush were based mainly on the indications of the dentist, respectively, for toothpaste on its properties. The frequency of toothbrushing is mainly twice a day 428 (MS = 234; HS = 248), p = 0.079, r = 0.037, 73 (MS = 33; HS = 40) after every meal. p = 0.099, r = 0.095. Mouthwash is used by 421 (MS = 199; HS = 222) p = 0.111, r = −0.048, and 228 (MS = 199; HS = 222) after each brushing. Dental floss is used by 240 (MS = 106; HS = 134), p = 0.031, r = −0.073 and only 74 (MS = 41; HS = 33) after each brushing. Conclusions: there are differences in the level of knowledge and attitudes regarding the determinants of oral hygiene depending on the level of education.

In vitro effect of toothpaste with low fluoride combined with sodium trimetaphosphate on dentine erosion

PURPOSE

This study sought to evaluate in vitro the effect of a dentifrice containing sodium trimetaphosphate (TMP) combined or not with low fluoride (500 ppm NaF) on dentine erosion of intrinsic origin.

METHODS

Human root dentine blocks were selected based on surface microhardness and randomly allocated into five groups (n = 12): negative control (0 ppm F; no TMP); F500 (500 ppm NaF); F1500 (1500 ppm NaF-positive control); TMP (1% TMP); and F + TMP (500 ppm NaF + 1% TMP). The blocks were submitted to erosion cycles (3 ×/day) for 3 days (0.01 M HCl, pH 1.5-30 s), treatment (1 min-1:3 p/p dentifrice/distilled water) and remineralization (artificial saliva/120 min). Dentine alterations were determined according to the percentage of microhardness loss (%HL), surface loss (SL) and surface analysis by scanning electron microscopy. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05).

RESULTS

The values of SL and %HL in each group were, respectively: negative control (1.36 ± 0.36; 57.29 ± 14.14), F500 (1.46 ± 0.28; 65.66 ± 5.11), F1500 (1.52 ± 0.36; 61.66 ± 5.15), TMP (1.45 ± 0.45; 62.08 ± 3.83) and F + TMP (1.38 ± 0.42; 63.38 ± 6.47). There was no statistically significant difference in all the parameters (p = 0.873 and p = 0.152).

CONCLUSION

The dentifrices containing TMP combined or not with fluoride were not able to prevent dentine erosion.