Dental Public Health, Institute of Population Health, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Psychology and Public Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2021 Oct;49(5):478-486. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12624. Epub 2021 Feb 27.
Toothbrushing is generally considered as a key self-care behaviour necessary for maintaining good oral health. Although twice-daily brushing is widely recommended as beneficial since this provides both biofilm removal and a regular application of fluoride, some people such as those with low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds often brush less regularly. Habit theory identifies that behaviours become habitual when they are undertaken repeatedly in response to a particular cue within a stable context. Once behaviour becomes automatic, long-term maintenance is more likely even if motivation wanes. Establishing toothbrushing as a habitual behaviour is therefore an intervention strategy which may help reduce health inequalities. Therefore, the objective was to more fully understand the nature of toothbrushing behaviour in adults and what prompts its instigation and execution in the morning and evening, in order to inform the design of interventions in this area.
Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were undertaken in an urgent dental care centre in a deprived area of North West England. Thematic analysis using a framework method was used to code the data into theoretically derived categories.
Morning toothbrushing was found to be strongly integrated into cleansing routines and was identified as a behaviour predominantly initiated in response to visual cues. Some toothbrushing behaviour was prompted by internal cues, expressed as strong feelings or urges. These were more related to night-time toothbrushing habits. Common morning motivators were aesthetics and social acceptability. Evening motivators were relatively idiosyncratic. Cleaning of the mouth following a hard, manual working day emerged as a strong driver for low SES males.
Understanding the nature of habitual morning and evening toothbrushing is important for the design of effective behavioural interventions, especially those aiming to achieve sustainable improvement in the frequency of night-time toothbrushing.
刷牙通常被认为是维持良好口腔健康所必需的关键自我护理行为。尽管每天刷牙两次被广泛推荐是有益的，因为这既可以去除牙菌斑，又可以定期使用氟化物，但有些人，如社会经济地位（SES）较低的人，往往刷牙不那么规律。习惯理论认为，当行为在稳定的环境中对特定线索做出重复反应时，就会成为习惯。一旦行为变得自动，即使动机减弱，长期维持的可能性也更大。因此，将刷牙确立为习惯性行为是一种干预策略，可能有助于减少健康不平等。因此，本研究的目的是更全面地了解成年人刷牙行为的本质，以及是什么促使他们在早上和晚上开始和执行刷牙，以便为该领域的干预措施提供信息。
在英格兰西北部一个贫困地区的紧急牙科中心进行了 29 次半结构化访谈。使用框架方法的主题分析将数据编码为理论上推导的类别。
发现早上刷牙与清洁程序紧密结合，并且主要是在视觉线索的刺激下开始的行为。一些刷牙行为是由内部线索引起的，表现为强烈的感觉或冲动。这些更多地与夜间刷牙习惯有关。常见的早晨动机是美学和社会可接受性。晚上的动机则相对独特。对于 SES 较低的男性来说，在艰苦的体力劳动后清洁口腔是一个强烈的驱动力。
了解习惯性早晚刷牙的本质对于设计有效的行为干预措施很重要，特别是那些旨在提高夜间刷牙频率的可持续性的干预措施。
