Abstract

SILVA, Priscila Florentino  and  FREITAS, Cláudia Helena Soares de Morais. Analysis of the reasons that hinder the adoption of healthy oral hygiene habits in relation to dental caries: an assessment in a public school in Paraiba. Arq. Odontol. [online]. 2011, vol.47, n.1, pp. 38-44. ISSN 1516-0939.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the knowledge of parents of students from a public school in Paraiba concerning dental caries and the difficulties encountered by them to adopt healthy oral habits. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in Guarabira, Paraiba, Brazil. The population studied consisted of 46 parents/guardians of students from 5 to12 years of age from the Paulo Brandão Public School, located in within the jurisdiction of the Santa Terezinha Family Health Unit. A structured questionnaire was applied with objective and subjective questions addressing parents'/guardians' knowledge and hygiene habits of their children. Data were analyzed based on frequency distribution and descriptive statistics. For descriptive procedures, measures of central tendency (mean and median) and dispersion (standard deviation) were presented. Results: Among the participants, 80.5% were female and 19.5% male. Regarding salaries, those who received a minimum wage (50%), or even no income (30.4%), was predominant. Regarding the educational level of the parents/guardians, an incomplete high school education (54.3%) was predominant. Most participants (95.6%) considered that caries were preventable, and, concerning the frequency of daily brushing, 71.8% answered three times/day. As regards the frequency of change in toothbrush, 39.1% answered that they change their toothbrush every 3 months, while 15.2% of the parents only change it every 6 months, because of financial difficulties (41.3%), because they forget (50%), or due to a lack of information on the subject (8.7%). Conclusion: This study suggested that low socioeconomic conditions and a lack of information hinder the adoption of healthy habits within the studied population.

Keywords : Oral health; Public health dentistry; Toothbrushing.