A school plan for bedtime brushing made brushing more automatic for kids, parents said
Who it’s about: Children
- HelpedHabits
Parents said brushing was automatic for more kids with a bedtime plan than for kids given one lesson.
- Action: Track your progresstested
- Rule: Before going to bedtested
- Rule: Put a visible cue where you'll do ittested
- Rule: Get a remindertested
- Rule: Share your progress with someonetested
- Action: Brush your teethused
Trial of 164 children aged 7 to 8 in Indonesia · vs children who had one usual lesson on teeth · they rated themselves · ⚠ unclear how groups were picked; numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show
- MixedOther outcomes
Plaque was lower than after one usual lesson at one month, but higher at two months.
- Rule: Before going to bedtested
- Rule: Put a visible cue where you'll do ittested
- Rule: Get a remindertested
- Action: Brush your teethused
Trial of 164 children aged 7 to 8 in Indonesia · vs children who had one usual lesson on teeth · they rated themselves · ⚠ unclear how groups were picked; numbers unreliable; summary claims more than the results show
The study
Who took part
164 children aged 7 to 8 (77 girls, 87 boys) in primary schools in Madiun City, East Java, Indonesia. 69 were in the programme group and 95 in the other group. The paper doesn't say how children were put into groups.
What they did
Teachers gave the programme group three sessions. The children pictured healthy teeth and planned how to brush at night. They used a poster in the bedroom, reminders from family and an alarm. Parents signed a daily log, and the children practised brushing for two minutes. The other group had one usual lesson on teeth. Both groups brushed together at school every day for about 2 months.
What happened
After 2 months, parents rated brushing as automatic for about 64 in 100 programme children. In the other group it was 22 in 100. Plaque on the teeth was lower in the programme group after one month but higher after two. The paper's summary gives a much bigger effect than its results section, and some tables are garbled.
Source
The formation of tooth brushing automaticity of 7-8 year-old children using appreciative inquiry (Ai) approach (2020)
DOI: 10.15562/jdmfs.v5i1.968 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Rule · where5
Put a visible cue where you'll do itA sticker, poster, object or wearable prompt at the point of action.
