# The Influence of Maternal Information Sources on Infant Oral Hygiene Practices for Six-Month-Olds in South Australia: A Cross-Sectional Study

## TL;DR

This study explores how the sources of information that mothers use influence their infant oral hygiene practices for six-month-olds in South Australia.

## Contribution

The study identifies that seeking advice from multiple sources, especially dentists, improves infant oral hygiene practices.

## Key findings

- 60.4% of mothers reported not cleaning their 6-month-old’s gums/teeth in the past 3 months.
- Mothers who sought advice from dentists were more likely to clean their infants’ teeth.
- Infants with erupted teeth were more likely to be brushed twice or more daily.

## Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the association between the different information sources on infant oral hygiene accessed by mothers and infant oral hygiene practices in South Australia. Information on the oral hygiene practices used in 6-month-old infants—gum/tooth cleaning in the past 3 months, frequency of brushing, and the usage of fluoridated toothpaste—were acquired from the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE) cohort survey. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression modelling were used to analyse the relationship between the information sources and infant oral hygiene practices. The majority of mothers (60.4%) reported not having cleaned their 6-month-old’s gums/teeth in the past 3 months. One-third of mothers with 6-month-olds did not seek information on infant oral hygiene. Mothers who sought advice from dentists were more likely to have cleaned their infant’s gums/teeth in the past 3 months, and those with infants whose teeth had erupted were also more likely to clean their infants’ teeth twice or more daily. We can conclude that mothers who sought information on infant oral hygiene from more than one source adopted generally better oral hygiene practices for their infants, with a dentist’s advice notably increasing the likelihood of mothers following the guidelines for cleaning their infants’ teeth.