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A qualitative meta-synthesis of carers’ perceptions of factors influencing preschool children’s oral hygiene practices—A social practices perspective

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posted on 2024-09-11, 00:38 authored by Ivana Matic Girard, P Ward, A Durey, C McLean, S Lund, Hanny CalacheHanny Calache, SR Baker, Linda Slack-Smith
Objectives: This study comprises a synthesis of published qualitative studies from developed countries on the perspectives of carers regarding the oral hygiene toothbrushing practices of preschool children, through the lens of social practice theory. Methods: A search of the following electronic databases was conducted for all available years: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Global Health using the Ovid platform; Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source (DOSS), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Scopus. Included qualitative studies reported primary caregivers' perceptions of oral hygiene practices (focusing on toothbrushing) in preschool children (0–5 years old) in developed countries. A thematic synthesis of the qualitative findings was undertaken for the results of each study. Results: Eleven articles were included in this meta-synthesis. The focus of this paper was toothbrushing practices. A conceptual map of toothbrushing as a social practice was developed. Key findings included practice elements (meanings, competences, and materials), spatial and temporal aspects, and barriers and facilitators to performance. Conclusions: The application of a social practice lens to published qualitative research on the oral hygiene of preschool children provided insights into the meanings and competences related to toothbrushing, as perceived by primary caregivers. However, it also revealed limited information on material, spatial and temporal aspects of toothbrushing practices, indicating the importance of considering social practice theory as a framework in future research to address this gap. Furthermore, exploring toothbrushing in connection with related social practices has the potential to increase understanding of factors influencing oral health in preschool children.

Funding

This research was supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (project DP210101166).

History

Publication Date

2024-10-01

Journal

Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology

Volume

52

Issue

5

Pagination

13p. (p. 677-689)

Publisher

Wiley

ISSN

0301-5661

Rights Statement

© 2024 The Authors. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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