Relationship between family members' oral health behaviours andstatus

Abstract

Introduction: Oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal diseases are among the most common diseases in Hong Kong. Family as a basic societal unit has an important role to play in shaping the individual member’s behaviours and health status. However, most dental research studies focus on modifiable risk factors of individuals rather than those of a family. Objectives: 1. to describe the oral health behaviours and oral health status of family members in a selected sample of families in Hong Kong; 2. to assess the relationships between oral health behaviours and oral health status amongst the family members; 3. to assess the influence of socio-economic factors, lifestyle factors and oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural factors on oral health status of the spouses; and 4. to assess the influence of parental factors on the child’s oral health behaviours and status. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a combination of a random household and a purposive sampling was conducted. The study population was 5 to 7-year-old children and their parents in Hong Kong. A clinical examination and a questionnaire survey were conducted on the core family members (parents and children) of the recruited families. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized multivariate models which tried to investigate the complex relationships among different risk factors and oral health status. Results: A total of 432 families with targeted children, 373 fathers and 424 mothers were recruited. The mean DMFT/dmft score of the father, the mother, and their children were 7.2, 6.2, and 2.6, respectively. Around half (52%) of the fathers and one-third (35%) of the mothers had periodontal probing pocket(s) deeper than 3mm. In the structural equation models, strong positive correlations were found between the oral health behaviours of fathers and mothers (∅=0.98, p<0.05), mothers and children (∅=0.79, p<0.05), and fathers and children (∅=0.74, p<0.05). Positive correlations were also found between the oral health status of fathers and mothers (∅=0.43, p<0.05), mothers and children (∅=0.33, p<0.05), and fathers and children (∅=0.30, p<0.05). Fathers’ oral health status was directly affected by their oral health behaviours and smoking habit, and indirectly affected by their socio-economic status and oral health knowledge and attitudes. The explained variance of fathers’ oral health status was 47%. The mothers’ oral health status was only directly affected by their oral health behaviours and indirectly by their socio-economic status and oral health knowledge and attitudes. The explained variance of mothers’ oral health status was 53%. Children’s oral health status was only directly affected by their oral health behaviours and indirectly by their mother’s socio-economic status, mother’s oral health knowledge and attitudes, and mother’s oral health behaviours. The explained variance of children’s oral health status was 26%. Conclusion: Oral health behaviours and status are correlated among family members. Children’s oral health status is affected by their oral health behaviours, which may be affected by parents’ socio-economic status, oral health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours.