Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Pedodontology, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam and VU University, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Lifestyle, TNO, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, Netherlands.
J Public Health Dent. 2018 Dec;78(1):69-77. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12242. Epub 2017 Jul 27.
This study aimed to evaluate parents' Willingness to Invest (WTI) in their children's oral health in terms of money, visits to a dental practice, and brushing minutes. Objectives were to assess the association between parents' WTI and a) children's dental caries experience, b) children's oral hygiene behavior (OHB), and c) maternal education level and ethnic background.
A sample of 630 five to six-year-old-children was recruited from pediatric dental centers in the Netherlands. Children's dmft scores were extracted from personal dental records. Parental questionnaires were used to collect data on parents' WTI, children's OHB, maternal education level and ethnicity.
On average, parents were willing to spend a maximum of €37 per month, 3.0 dental visits per year, and 4.5 brushing minutes per day to maintain good oral health for their child. The mean dmft was significantly higher in children whose parents were willing to pay more money and visit the dentist more often (P = 0.028 and P = 0.002, respectively), while the mean dmft was significantly lower in children of parents who were willing to invest more brushing minutes (P < 0.001). Parental WTI in terms of money and brushing minutes was higher in native and higher-educated parents, and was associated with more favorable OHB of children.
Parents' WTI in their children's oral health is related to children's dental caries status and reported OHB. Results suggest that children are better off when parents are willing to invest in self-care, rather than in money or dental visits.
本研究旨在评估父母在金钱、看牙医次数和刷牙时间方面对子女口腔健康的投资意愿（WTI）。目的是评估父母的 WTI 与以下方面之间的关系：a）儿童的龋齿经历，b）儿童的口腔卫生行为（OHB），c）母亲的教育水平和种族背景。
从荷兰儿科牙科中心招募了 630 名五到六岁的儿童作为样本。从个人牙科记录中提取儿童的 dmft 评分。使用父母问卷收集父母 WTI、儿童 OHB、母亲教育水平和种族的数据。
平均而言，父母愿意每月最多花费 37 欧元，每年看 3.0 次牙医，每天刷牙 4.5 分钟以保持孩子的口腔健康。父母愿意支付更多的钱和更频繁地看牙医的孩子的平均 dmft 显著更高（P=0.028 和 P=0.002），而愿意投入更多刷牙时间的父母的孩子的平均 dmft 显著更低（P<0.001）。在金钱和刷牙时间方面，父母的 WTI 在本地和受过高等教育的父母中更高，并且与儿童更有利的 OHB 相关。
父母对子女口腔健康的投资意愿与儿童的龋齿状况和报告的 OHB 有关。结果表明，当父母愿意投资于自我保健而非金钱或看牙医时，孩子会更好。
