September 2015

Community Dental Health (2015) 32, 132–136 Received 14 January 2015; Accepted 18 February 2015 Relationship between family characteristics and children’s regular toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste S. Kino, E. Bernabé, W. Sabbah and J. Aukett Objective: To examine the association between toothbrushing habits of 8-9 year-olds and maternal behaviours and attitudes towards oral health in a sample of Japanese population. Methods: Cross-sectional data on mothers’ behaviours and attitudes towards oral health and children’s toothbrushing habits were collected from 378 mother-child pairs by self-administered questionnaires. Logistic regression examined the association of children’s daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste with family characteristics, mother’s behaviour (toothbrushing frequency, use of interdental aids and supervision of children’s toothbrushing), and mother’s attitudes towards oral health (priority for toothbrushing and dental fear). Results: Children’s favourable brushing habits were positively associated with child’s gender (female) (OR 1.29; 95%CI:1.09,1.53), child’s order of birth (first) (OR 1.53; 95%CI:1.05,2.23), maternal brushing habits (OR 2.42; 95%CI:1.73,3.40), and maternal dental fear (OR 1.45; 95%CI:1.10,1.90). None of the other examined factors were significantly associated with child toothbrushing behaviour. Conclusions: Maternal oral hygiene practice and attitude towards dentists appear to be important predictors of children’s toothbrushing habits in this Japanese community sample. Key words: child, toothbrushing, toothpastes, fluorides, maternal behaviour, Japan