Department of Preventive & Restorative Dental Sciences and Center to Address Disparities in Children's Oral Health, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Department of Anthropology, History & Social Medicine and Center to Address Disparities in Children's Oral Health, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2010 Jun;38(3):244-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2009.00528.x. Epub 2010 Feb 10.
Caries is a severe condition which disproportionately affects Latino children in the US. This study sought contextual understanding of urban, low-income Mexican-American mothers' beliefs, perceptions, knowledge and behavior surrounding causes of caries.
In urban San José, CA, a qualitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of Mexican-American mothers of young children about their beliefs and knowledge about the causes of caries. Audio-taped in-depth interviews with open-ended questions, primarily in Spanish, were translated to English and then transcribed verbatim. Texts were independently read and thematically analyzed by two researchers.
Even while expressing uncertainty, all 48 mothers mentioned specific causes of caries, most frequently citing candy or juice consumption (85%), poor oral hygiene (65%) and use of the bottle (52%). Mothers rarely recognized cariogenic foods beyond candy, did not know or perform recommended oral hygiene routines, and demonstrated confusion and uncertainty about exactly how baby bottles are detrimental to teeth. Nearly half of these mothers also mentioned secondary cavity causes, such as genetics, lack of calcium, not going to the dentist or lack of fluoride. Mothers did not mention the role of bacteria. While mothers recognized that oral hygiene can counteract the detrimental effects of candy consumption, they did not recognize its beneficial effects in other contexts. Nor did they know about other preventive activities.
Mothers recognized the three major important factors causing caries: sugar consumption, poor oral hygiene and bottle use. However, their knowledge is limited in depth and specificity which restricts development of caries prevention behaviors. More comprehensive education is needed, including about caries prevention (oral hygiene) behaviors, which could lead to an increased sense of self-efficacy with respect to their children's oral health.
龋齿是一种严重的疾病，在美国不成比例地影响拉丁裔儿童。本研究旨在了解城市低收入墨西哥裔美国母亲对龋齿病因的信念、看法、知识和行为。
在加利福尼亚州圣何塞市，对 48 名年幼子女的墨西哥裔美国母亲进行了一项定性研究，以了解她们对龋齿病因的信念和知识。对主要以西班牙语进行的开放式深度访谈进行了录音，并将访谈翻译成英文，然后逐字记录。两名研究人员独立阅读和进行主题分析。
尽管表示不确定，但所有 48 位母亲都提到了龋齿的具体病因，最常提到的是糖果或果汁摄入（85%）、口腔卫生不良（65%）和使用奶瓶（52%）。母亲们很少认识到糖果以外的致龋食物，不知道或不执行推荐的口腔卫生常规，并且对奶瓶究竟如何对牙齿有害感到困惑和不确定。近一半的母亲还提到了次要龋齿病因，如遗传、钙缺乏、不去看牙医或缺乏氟化物。母亲们没有提到细菌的作用。虽然母亲们认识到口腔卫生可以抵消糖果摄入的有害影响，但她们没有认识到其在其他情况下的有益影响。她们也不知道其他预防措施。
母亲们认识到导致龋齿的三个主要因素：糖的摄入、口腔卫生不良和奶瓶使用。然而，她们的知识在深度和具体性上都有限，这限制了龋齿预防行为的发展。需要进行更全面的教育，包括有关龋齿预防（口腔卫生）行为的教育，这可能会增强她们对子女口腔健康的自我效能感。
