A study of preschoolers tooth-brushing behavior in Shaanxi province / 中国实用护理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:Understand the status of brushing teeth behavior of preschoolers in Shaanxi Province, to provide basis for oral health of preschoolers.Methods:By adopting the methods of multi-stage, stratified, geometric and cluster sampling, 1 370 kindergarten students at the age of 3-5 in Shaanxi Province were sampled as respondents to implement oral health questionnaire.Results:49.2%(674/1 370) children brushed their teeth every day, including only 14.8%(203/1 370) children brushing their teeth twice or above. Therefore, the difference of the brushing frequency (≥ 1 time/day) between urban and rural areas had obvious statistical significance ( χ2 value was 47.588, P<0.01). 98.7%(741/750) children used toothpaste, including only 6.9% (51/741) using toothpaste with fluoride. Therefore, the use of toothpaste between urban and rural areas has no statistical significance. Only 0.5% (4/751) children started to brush their teeth when their first deciduous tooth erupted. Therefore, the age for children starting to brush their teeth between urban and rural areas had obvious statistical significance ( χ2 value was 24.217, P<0.01). 65.2% (490/751)parents never helped their children to brush teeth, parents in rural areas even reached to 72.8% (227/312). Therefore, the brushing frequency for parents helping their children to brush teeth between urban and rural areas had statistical difference ( χ2 value was 16.192, P<0.01). Conclusions:The status of brushing teeth behavior of preschoolers in Shaanxi Province is lower than the national level, and the level in rural areas is obviously lower that in urban areas. The education and cultivation on brushing teeth behavior should be further strengthened in the future propaganda and education, especially, the power of propaganda on children and parents in rural areas should be strengthened.