title: Parental decisions about children's oral health behaviour: relative or absolute?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the extent to which parents' judgements about their children's oral health behaviour conform to the principles of a specific theory of cognitive decision making - Range-frequency Theory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experimental study with an opportunity sample of 121 parents of young children (3-6 years old) living in areas of relative deprivation in South Wales. Parents were allocated to four different experimental groups, and each completed a pen-and-paper exercise, which involved being presented with (and rating) how often other parents brushed their children's teeth. The brushing frequencies presented varied between the groups, directly test the rank and range principle of Range-frequency Theory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents' ratings of other toothbrushing frequencies were predicted by the range and rank principle of Range-frequency Theory. A comparison between Group 1 and Group 2 showed that parents' ratings of similar brushing frequencies were affected by their relative rank among other brushing frequencies presented. A comparison between Group 3 and Group 4 showed that parents in a group who were presented with a very high brushing frequency (21 times a week) rated all other brushing frequencies as relatively less healthy than the comparison group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The principles of Range-frequency Theory predicted parents' judgement about children's oral health behaviour - specifically toothbrushing frequency. These findings provide a theoretical framework on which to develop future oral health education and interventions aimed at promoting twice-daily toothbrushing to parents of young children.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Trials Research, College of Biomedical & Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Rob J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Trubey
authors.affiliation: Violence & Society Research Group, Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Cardiff University School of Dentistry, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Simon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Dental Public Health, Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Cardiff University School of Dentistry, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Ivor Gordon
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Chestnutt
keywords: children; dental caries; family; health behaviour; oral health; oral hygiene; parents; social norms; toothbrushing