Lifestyle and psychosocial correlates of oral hygiene practice among Indonesian adolescents

Tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste and associated factors among Chinese adolescents: a nationwide cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste has become the most important way to provide the anti-caries effect of fluoride around the world. China has promoted the use of fluoridated toothpaste since 1989. However, there are few studies on the national profile of use of fluoridated toothpaste and related factors in Chinese adolescents. We carried out this study to investigate oral hygiene behaviours, especially the status of tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste and its correlates among adolescents, based on data from the latest Nation Oral Health Survey in mainland China.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study recruited 118,601 participants aged 12-15 years using multistage stratified sampling. Questionnaires were completed by students at school. Data employed in analyses were extracted from the questionnaire, including information on tooth brushing, fluoridated toothpaste, dental floss, sociodemographic factors, fluoride knowledge and attitude towards regular dental check-ups. A binary logistic regression was performed to compute the odds ratios (OR). Tooth brushing twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste was the dependent variable. Sociodemographic factors, fluoride knowledge, attitude towards regular dental check-ups, dental visit experience and perceived oral health were the independent variables. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

A total of 32.6% of participants brushed their teeth twice daily, 7.4% used fluoridated toothpaste, and 3.9% cleaned their teeth twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste. The logistic regression showed the probability of twice-a-day tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste was higher among these groups: females (OR: 1.141; 95%CI: 1.072-1.214), 15-year-olds (OR: 1.786; 95%CI: 1.634-1.952), from urban areas (OR: 1.389; 95%CI: 1.288-1.497), without siblings (OR: 1.351; 95%CI: 1.259-1.450), with an educated father (OR: 1. 605; 95%CI: 1.442-1.788) and mother (OR: 1.706; 95%CI: 1.530-1.903), having dental visit experiences (OR: 1.702; 95%CI: 1.589-1.823), rating one's oral health as good (OR: 2.341; 95%CI: 2.083-2.631), having fluoride knowledge (OR: 4.345; 95%CI: 4.034-4.678) and having a positive attitude towards regular dental check-ups (OR: 1.589; 95%CI: 1.460-1.729).

CONCLUSIONS

The oral hygiene behaviours of Chinese adolescents were undesirable. Twice daily tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste was significantly associated with sociodemographic factors, fluoride knowledge, and attitudes towards regular dental check-ups.

Impact of oral hygiene habits on oral health-related quality of life of in-school adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background

Recent evidence has shown that the prevalence of periodontal diseases is still high among adolescents and, thus, there is an impetus to promote good oral hygiene habits among them through schools. There is a need to provide baseline data on the oral hygiene habits of adolescents and how it impacts their oral health-related quality of life for appropriate intervention to be instituted. Moreover, oral health-related quality of life describes how oral health affects the daily activities of individuals; thus, it provides a holistic means of involving individuals in making decisions about their oral health including uptake of oral hygiene habits.

Aim

To assess the impact of oral hygiene habits on adolescents' oral health-related quality of life.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,800 adolescents aged 14–18 years attending 36 Senior Secondary Schools in the metropolis of Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which assessed students' sociodemographic characteristics, oral hygiene habits, and oral health-related quality of life with COHIP-SF19. Data obtained was analyzed with SPSS version 25 and the p-value was set at <5%.

Results

The mean age of the adolescents was 15.16 (±1.16) years. Many 1,094 (60.3%) cleaned their teeth twice or more often daily with 126 (7.0%) cleaning after meals and 1,519 (84.4%) changing their tooth cleaning agent at three months intervals or less. About 1,215 (67.5%) spent three minutes or longer in cleaning their teeth. Only a few 238 (13.2%) cleaned interdentally and 137 (7.6%) used dental floss. The OHRQoL scores of the adolescents ranged from 9–76. A total of 1,612 (93.5%) had at least an impact on their OHRQoL. Those who cleaned their teeth more frequently (twice or more) were more likely to have better OHRQoL (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1–2.4, p = 0.025) and those who did not clean interdentally were more likely to have better OHRQoL (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.2–6.5, p = 0.014) than others.

Conclusion

The oral hygiene habits of the adolescents were suboptimal and those who cleaned their teeth twice or more often each day had fewer impacts on their OHRQoL, whereas those who engaged in interdental cleaning had higher impacts on their OHRQoL than others.

Socioeconomic Inequalities and Toothbrushing Frequency among Schoolchildren Aged 6 to 12 Years in a Multi-Site Study of Mexican Cities: A Cross-Sectional Study

Periodic toothbrushing is the most common, effective, and reliable way to mechanically remove biofilm from oral tissues. The objective of the present study was to determine the association between toothbrushing frequency and socioeconomic position for schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years of age in four cities in Mexico. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 Mexican schoolchildren between 6 and 12 years of age from public schools in four Mexican cities. Questionnaires were administered to the parents/guardians of the schoolchildren to obtain the variables included in the study. The dependent variable was toothbrushing frequency, dichotomized as: 0 = less than twice a day and 1 = at least twice a day. The analysis was performed in Stata. The average age of the schoolchildren was 8.9 ± 1.9 years; 50.4% were female. The prevalence of toothbrushing was 52.8% (at least twice a day) (95% CI = 48.4−57.1). In the multivariate model, the variables associated (p < 0.05) with toothbrushing frequency were older age of the schoolchild (OR = 1.14); younger age of the mother (OR = 0.93); being a girl (OR = 1.70); being enrolled in Seguro Popular (OR = 0.69); being in a household that was owned (OR = 2.43); and being a schoolchild who lived in a home that owned a car (OR = 1.31). The prevalence of toothbrushing at least twice a day was just over 50% in these Mexican children. We found demographic and socioeconomic variables to be associated with toothbrushing. Based on socioeconomic variables that were associated with toothbrushing frequency—such as health insurance, home ownership and the household owning a car—the results of the present study confirm the existence of health inequalities in toothbrushing frequency.

[Dental caries prevention program in children and adolescents living in residential institutions]

THE AIM OF THE STUDY

Was to assess the effectiveness of a new dental caries prevention program in children of various ages living in residential institutions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The program of oral health promotion and caries prevention was introduced in the autonomous non-profit organization «Social rehabilitation center Solba». The study comprised 98 children aged 12-17 years divided into two groups: the main group of 52 children aged 12-16 years enrolled in the program in 2013 in pre-school (32 children) and primary school age (20 children) and the control group of 46 adolescents aged 12-17 years not included in the program. DMFT and OHI-S index were compared in both groups as well as in children enrolled in the program at various ages.

RESULTS

The overall caries prevalence was 84.7%. Statistically significant differences were documented between children enrolled in the program in pre-school and primary school ages regarding both caries prevalence (78% and 89%, respectively) and intensity (3.5 and 5.4 tooth, respectively (p=0.01)). Non-satisfactory, poor and very poor OHI-S was observed in 15.4% of children in the main group and 54.3% of controls. Good oral hygiene was seen in 67.3 and 37%, satisfactory - in 17.3 and 8.7% of children, respectively (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Programs of dental caries prevention with oral health promotion component are effective for oral hygiene improvement in children living in residential institutions. The key for long-term effectiveness and dental caries prevalence and intensity reduction is the start of the program in pre-school age and education of caregivers and teachers to provide control of dental care in pre-school and primary school children.

Socioeconomic status, social support, and oral health-risk behaviors in Canadian adolescents

OBJECTIVES

We tested hypotheses regarding how adolescent oral health-related behaviors are associated with socioeconomic status (SES) and family and peer social support, including the extent to which such associations differ for boys and girls.

METHODS

We analyzed data from the 2013/2014 Canadian Health Behavior in School-aged Children Study for 20,357 adolescents ages 12-18 years. Family Affluence Scale was used to assess SES. Family and peer social support were assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. We estimated average marginal effects from multivariable binary logistic regression models for three oral health-risk behaviors outcomes: infrequent toothbrushing, high sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake, and high sweets consumption across both genders.

RESULTS

Adolescents from low SES households had lower probability of parental and peer support, and were significantly more likely to report infrequent toothbrushing and high SSB consumption, both before and after controlling for both types of support. Lower family support was associated with higher probability of engaging in infrequent toothbrushing and high SSB intake, while lower peer support was associated with higher probability of engaging in infrequent toothbrushing and lower likelihood of engaging in high SSB consumption. The associations of family support with oral health-related behaviors were somewhat stronger for boys than girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Low SES and low family support were associated with a higher likelihood of oral health-risk behaviors (infrequent toothbrushing and SSB consumption). Regardless of adolescents' gender, parental support exerted a protective role, but peer support had countervailing risk and protective roles on oral health-related behaviors.

Does a diluted chlorhexidine-based orthodontic mouthwash cause less discoloration compared to chlorhexidine mouthwash in fixed orthodontic patients? A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Chlorhexidine gluconate is currently the most effective oral antimicrobial agent against microorganisms, but discoloration of the teeth prevents its long-term use and can reduce patient cooperation. In this study, the effect of chlorhexidine and a diluted chlorhexidine-based, fluoride, cetylpyridinium and vitamin added mouth rinse (Orthokin) on stain index in fixed orthodontic patients was compared.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was performed as a double blind randomized controlled trial on 50 patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment in the age group of 14-30 years. The patients were categorized as two groups of chlorhexidine and Orthokin mouth rinses and were asked to use mouthwash for eight weeks. Groups were matched according to colouring food consumption. Extrinsic staining index was assessed by modified Loben technique. Data was analysed by SPSS software. P value was set to be 0.05.

RESULTS

In the chlorhexidine group, the stain extent index and overall stain index were increased significantly at 8 weeks (P<0.001 and P=0.002, respectively). However, the increase in stain intensity index was insignificant (P=0.07). In Orthokin group, the changes in stain extent, stain intensity and overall stain were insignificant (P=0.66, P=1.000, P=0.47, respectively).

CONCLUSION

According to the results of the present study, chlorhexidine mouthwash causes more staining of teeth compared to Orthokin mouthwash. It seems that lower concentrations of chlorhexidine can be prescribed to orthodontic patients. Although these compounds are effective in sense of oral hygiene, they do not cause significant discoloration.