Zaborskis Apolinaras, Razmienė Jaunė, Razmaitė Augustė, Andruškevičienė Vilija, Narbutaitė Julija, Bendoraitienė Eglė Aida, Kavaliauskienė Aistė
Department of Preventive Medicine & Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A.Mickevičiaus 9, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Department of Oral Health and Paediatric Dentistry, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A.Mickevičiaus 9, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Children (Basel). 2024 Nov 13;11(11):1380. doi: 10.3390/children11111380.
The role of parents and the family in promoting children's oral health is increasingly acknowledged in the dental literature. This study aimed to investigate twelve-year changes in pre-schoolers' oral health and parental involvement in children's dental care using data from two repeated cross-sectional surveys. The objectives were (1) to assess the temporal changes in children's dental health status and oral health-related behaviours, (2) to examine temporal changes in parental attitudes toward their children's oral health care, and (3) to analyze the associations between observed changes.
Two identical cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2010/2011 ( = 294) and 2023 ( = 304). In both surveys, parents answered questions regarding their children's oral health care and completed the 38-item 'Parental Attitudes toward Children's Oral Health' (PACOH) scale, while the dental health of their 3-7-year-old children was clinically assessed. Changes in the examined characteristics were analyzed using general linear models.
Significant positive changes ( < 0.001) were observed when comparing the surveys: the dmf-t (decayed, missing, filled teeth) score for deciduous teeth decreased from 5.56 to 3.31; the Silness-Löe Plaque Index decreased from 1.45 to 1.15; the percentage of children brushing their teeth regularly increased from 33.0% to 55.3%; the percentage of parents assisting their child with tooth brushing increased from 19.2% to 85.1%; and regular visits to a children's dentist increased from 36.4% to 85.1%. Moreover, the study revealed better parental attitudes toward their children's oral health care, as reflected by a change in the total score of the PACOH scale from 112 to 122.
It was concluded that changes in parental attitudes played a crucial role in driving positive trends in oral health-related behaviours, which likely contributed to the improvement of dental health in children. Therefore, understanding and influencing parental attitudes can be essential for promoting good oral health skills and good oral health in young children.
父母及家庭在促进儿童口腔健康方面的作用在牙科文献中日益得到认可。本研究旨在利用两次重复横断面调查的数据，调查学龄前儿童口腔健康的12年变化以及父母对儿童牙科护理的参与情况。目标如下：（1）评估儿童牙齿健康状况和口腔健康相关行为的时间变化；（2）研究父母对其子女口腔保健态度的时间变化；（3）分析观察到的变化之间的关联。
在2010/2011年（n = 294）和2023年（n = 304）进行了两次相同的横断面调查。在两次调查中，父母回答了有关其子女口腔保健的问题，并完成了38项的“父母对儿童口腔健康的态度”（PACOH）量表，同时对其3至7岁子女的牙齿健康进行了临床评估。使用一般线性模型分析所检查特征的变化。
比较两次调查时观察到显著的正向变化（P < 0.001）：乳牙的dmf-t（龋、失、补牙）评分从5.56降至3.31；Silness-Löe菌斑指数从1.45降至1.15；经常刷牙的儿童百分比从33.0%增至55.3%；父母协助孩子刷牙的百分比从19.2%增至85.1%；定期看儿童牙医的比例从36.4%增至85.1%。此外，研究显示父母对其子女口腔保健的态度有所改善，PACOH量表总分从112分变为122分即反映了这一点。
得出的结论是，父母态度的变化在推动口腔健康相关行为的积极趋势方面发挥了关键作用，这可能有助于改善儿童的牙齿健康。因此，理解并影响父母的态度对于促进幼儿良好的口腔健康技能和良好的口腔健康至关重要。
