title: Comparison of Saudi child versus parent-report of child tooth-brushing practices.
abstract: This cross-sectional study compared Saudi children's tooth-brushing practices as reported by children and parents and then matched the agreement of reports.
  
  
  
  A sample of 100 Saudi parents and their children of ages 8-12 years participated in this cross-sectional investigation. A self-administered structured questionnaire regarding the current tooth-brushing practice and habits at home was filled by the child. The same questionnaire was filled independently by parents.
  
  
  
  Mothers were more likely to teach children about tooth-brushing and fathers were minimally helping children during tooth-brushing. Mothers were the first to teach the children and approximately 33% of the children started brushing their teeth by age 5. Children and parents reported that children clean their teeth using a tooth-brush (73.74% and 76.77%), miswak (5.05% and 5.05%), or both (21.21% and 18.18%), respectively.
  
  
  
  There was some agreement between reported tooth-brushing practice of children and their parents. It is important to question both the child and parent regarding oral hygiene practice and compare their answers to get more broad knowledge about their practices. Approximately, one-third of the children started brushing their teeth by age 5, which differs from recommended oral hygiene practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontic, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salama
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Ministry of Interior, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abobakr
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Khodair
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Saudi Endodontic Board, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Wakeel
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*