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.
Koerber
Anne
A
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, MC 850, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois-Chicago, 801 South Paulina Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. akoerber@uic.edu
Burns
James L
JL
Berbaum
Michael
M
Punwani
Indru
I
Levy
Susan R
SR
Cowell
Julia
J
Flay
Brian
B
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