title: [Oral hygiene customs in 6-12 year old schoolchildren].
abstract: OBJECTIVE. To characterize utilization of oral hygiene devices and customs in schoolchildren. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We performed a cross-sectional study in 1,404 schoolchildren (6- 12 year olds) from 14 public schools in Pachuca, Hidalgo, México, using a questionnaire for sociodemographic variables and 1) Tooth brushing frequency (<1/d vs. at least 1/d), 2) Use of toothpaste (not always vs. always), 3) Flossing (never, does not know vs. at least 1/week), 4) Use of mouthwash (never, does not know vs. at least 1/week). Analyses were performed with nonparametric tests. RESULTS. Mean age was 8.97 ± 1.99 years; 50.1% were male. Prevalence of utilization of oral hygiene devices and associated customs were 85.5% tooth brushing, 90.9% toothpaste, 19.4% flossing, and 28.2% mouthwash. Only 11.8% of participants reported utilization in all 4 categories. We observed differences (p < 0.05) across sexes only in the use of toothpaste, as women used it more often. Differences across age were observed (p < 0.05) for tooth brushing (younger children brushed more often) and flossing (older children flossed more often). CONCLUSIONS. Tooth brushing was the oral hygiene practice more often performed in this sample, with other frequencies being relatively low. There were differences by age and sex across some variables.
authors: Área Académica de Odontología del Instituto de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.
authors: César Tadeo
authors: CT
authors: Hernández-Martínez
authors: Carlo Eduardo
authors: CE
authors: Medina-Solís
authors: Norma Leticia
authors: NL
authors: Robles-Bermeo
authors: Martha
authors: M
authors: Mendoza-Rodríguez
authors: Miriam
authors: M
authors: Veras-Hernández
authors: Rubén
authors: R
authors: De la Rosa-Santillana
authors: Mauricio
authors: M
authors: Escoffié-Ramírez
authors: Sonia
authors: S
authors: Márquez-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D009067:Mouthwashes; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D009067:Mouthwashes