Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, UK.
Int J Paediatr Dent. 2010 May;20(3):230-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2010.01042.x.
The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess tooth brushing habits of pre-school children and to determine the role and amount of supervision given to them by their parents.
One hundred pre-school children below 6 years were selected from Maternal and Child Health Center, Sharjah (United Arab Emirates, UAE). A standard piloted questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic details and information on oral hygiene practise.
Tooth brushing was stared at a mean age of 16 months. Thirty-seven per cent of the pre-schoolers used a toothbrush for cleaning their teeth and the brushing habits were mainly (70%) introduced by mothers. The majority (80%) of children's tooth brushing at the age of 3 years and above was supervised by mothers. Younger children were frequently supervised in tooth brushing than older children (P < 0.05)
In summary, pre-school children of Sharjah (UAE) were introduced to tooth brushing at a mean age of 16 months. Mothers played a pivotal role in introducing and teaching the child how to brush. There was no positive correlation between the brushing behaviour of the mothers and their children. In most cases, the children's brushing was supervised by their mother when they were above 25 months of age. In children less than 12 months of age tooth brushing was not started at all.
本横断面研究旨在评估学龄前儿童的刷牙习惯，并确定其父母对他们的监督作用和监督程度。
从沙迦（阿拉伯联合酋长国，阿联酋）的母婴健康中心选择了 100 名 6 岁以下的学龄前儿童。使用标准化的预试验问卷收集社会人口统计学细节和口腔卫生实践信息。
平均 16 个月开始刷牙。37%的学龄前儿童使用牙刷清洁牙齿，刷牙习惯主要（70%）由母亲介绍。80%的 3 岁及以上儿童的刷牙由母亲监督。年龄较小的儿童比年龄较大的儿童更频繁地受到监督（P<0.05）。
总的来说，沙迦（阿联酋）的学龄前儿童在平均 16 个月大时开始刷牙。母亲在介绍和教导孩子如何刷牙方面发挥了关键作用。母亲的刷牙行为与孩子的刷牙行为之间没有正相关关系。在大多数情况下，当孩子超过 25 个月大时，母亲会监督他们刷牙。在 12 个月以下的儿童中，根本没有开始刷牙。
