Toothbrushing patterns over time in at-risk metropolitan African-American 5th- 8th graders.
OBJECTIVE
A large study of risky pre-teen behavior provided an opportunity to examine self-reported toothbrushing frequency for stability over time and adequacy.


METHODS
1115 metropolitan African-American children at risk for violence and drug use self-reported toothbrushing frequency in at least one of five measurement points from 5th to 8th grade as part of a larger study. Longitudinal data were available for 815 students.


RESULTS
81% reported mainly twice daily, 8% reported mainly once daily, 10% changed over time, and 1% were consistently less than once daily.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the children reported once or twice daily toothbrushing frequency, stable between 5th and 8th grades. A minority of children showed low or inconsistent frequencies and these results may indicate an opportunity for intervention to improve habits.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, MC 850, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois-Chicago, 801 South Paulina Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. akoerber@uic.edu
Anne
A
Koerber
James L
JL
Burns
Michael
M
Berbaum
Indru
I
Punwani
Susan R
SR
Levy
Julia
J
Cowell
Brian
B
Flay
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population