IADR Abstract Archives
Brushing Teeth - True Chaos or Strong Habit?
Objectives: Studies on tooth brushing behavior suggest that individuals tend to brush their teeth in a chaotic manner. However, it is unclear whether the seemingly erratic toothbrushing behavior represents actually an individual stable trait. Tooth brushing performance was thus observed repeatedly and intraindividual stability of different behavioral parameters was analyzed.
Methods: The tooth brushing performance of n = 105 German students at the University of Giessen, Hesse, was videotaped at two brushing sessions (S1 and S2) two weeks apart. They were instructed either to brush as usual (=53), or to the best of their ability (n=52). Calibrated observers analyzed brushing behavior with respect to brushing duration, brushing movements (horizontal, circular, vertical), brushing time on tooth surfaces (outer and inner surfaces) and distribution of time across sextants. The respective brushing parameters were analyzed regarding the degree of their inter-correlations between S1 and S2.
Results: Correlational analyses revealed high concordance between S1 and S2 for the observed behavioral parameters under both instructions: brushing duration (r>0.90), brushing movements (all r>0.70), brushing time on surfaces (all r>0.80). There was also a high degree of concordance with respect to the distribution of the brushing time across sextants at outer and inner surfaces (all p<0.01). Individuals who neglected one or more sextants did so at both sessions.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that people establish a very specific individual pattern of tooth brushing. Preventive measures should take into account the difficulty of changing established habits. Healthcare professionals and patients alike need to recognize this challenge when tackling oral hygiene shortcomings.
Methods: The tooth brushing performance of n = 105 German students at the University of Giessen, Hesse, was videotaped at two brushing sessions (S1 and S2) two weeks apart. They were instructed either to brush as usual (=53), or to the best of their ability (n=52). Calibrated observers analyzed brushing behavior with respect to brushing duration, brushing movements (horizontal, circular, vertical), brushing time on tooth surfaces (outer and inner surfaces) and distribution of time across sextants. The respective brushing parameters were analyzed regarding the degree of their inter-correlations between S1 and S2.
Results: Correlational analyses revealed high concordance between S1 and S2 for the observed behavioral parameters under both instructions: brushing duration (r>0.90), brushing movements (all r>0.70), brushing time on surfaces (all r>0.80). There was also a high degree of concordance with respect to the distribution of the brushing time across sextants at outer and inner surfaces (all p<0.01). Individuals who neglected one or more sextants did so at both sessions.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that people establish a very specific individual pattern of tooth brushing. Preventive measures should take into account the difficulty of changing established habits. Healthcare professionals and patients alike need to recognize this challenge when tackling oral hygiene shortcomings.