Toothbrushing at age 1: practice of parents and children

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: to describe the practice of the parents and 1-year-old children in Hong Kong in cleaning the child's teeth. METHODS: A study was conducted on Hong Kong 1-year-old children who were in good general health and not on long-term medication, and their parents. A simple clinical examination was conducted by a trained dentist to evaluate the child's tooth status. The parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about the child's background and the parent's and child's practice in cleaning the child's teeth. RESULTS: 337 children, 150 boys and 187 girls, aged 12-23 months were recruited from 13 child care centres or parenting education centers. No carious cavities were found in any teeth of the children. Most (80%) of the parents had started cleaning their child's oral cavity before 1 year old, using gauze, cotton swab or toothbrush. The proportions of parental toothbrushing for 12-14, 15-17, 18-20 and 21-23-month-old children were 31%, 40%, 63% and 63%, respectively (p<0.001). Only 18% of parents used toothpaste in parental toothbrushing. Proportions of children practicing toothbrushing were 9%, 11%, 40% and 42%, in the 12-14, 15-17, 18-20 and 21-23-month-old groups, respectively (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Only one third of parents in the study sample brushed their child's teeth by 1 year old and the use of toothpaste in these Hong Kong children was low. Parental toothbrushing training should be promoted to encourage parents to practice parental toothbrushing in an earlier age.