title: Toothbrushing habits and risk indicators of severe early childhood caries among aboriginal Taiwanese.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the toothbrushing habits and risk indicators among aboriginal children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC). This was a cross-sectional purposive sampling study that included 281 aboriginal children aged 2 to 5 years living in remote regions in southern Taiwan. Participant received dental examinations and questionnaires that were completed by caretakers. From among the 281 participants, 238 children (84%) presented with S-ECC. A low-frequency toothbrushing habit among the children with S-ECC was associated with caretakers with low-frequency toothbrushing (P = .001). The odds ratio of a child using improper toothbrushing methods having a caretaker with a low brushing frequency was 3.45 (P = .0157). Low-frequency toothbrushing and improper toothbrushing methods were associated with S-ECC. The caretakers' brushing frequency was a risk indicator associated with the children's poor oral hygiene.
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan shuntehuang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shun-Te
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Szu-Yu
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hsiao
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*