One-Third of Parents Report Their Kids Struggle with Tooth Decay, Cavities, and More: Research Suggests - Video

More than one in three parents say their child has faced issues like tooth decay, cavities, stained teeth, gum concerns or tooth pain over the past two years, a national poll suggests.

And these problems were linked to children’s oral care routine, more commonly experienced among those who skipped dental hygiene recommendations or followed them less often, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

The nationally representative report is based on 1,801 responses from parents with at least one child aged 4-17 polled in August 2024.

Sixty-four percent of parents say their child brushes their teeth twice a day and roughly 60% say brushing lasts for at least two minutes.

But fewer parents say their child consistently follows other oral health recommendations.

In between brushing, rinsing the mouth with water after consuming sugary foods or beverages can help to prevent the sugar from adhering to the teeth; however, only 15% of parents report their child regularly uses this strategy.

Overall, just one in five parents say their child does at least four of the top six recommended oral health tasks on all or most days — with less consistency reported among boys than girls. Children who followed fewer practices and did them less frequently had more oral health challenges.

Over a third of parents polled have also noticed that their child has bad breath, which was more common among children who only followed one or less oral hygiene practices all or most days.

Most parents attribute their child’s bad breath to “morning breath” or lack of brushing or flossing while less than a quarter cited smelly food, mouth breathing or dental problems.

Most parents polled say their child’s most recent dentist visit was within the past year, but 7% said it was one to two years ago and 4% said it’s been more than two years. Parents reporting their child follows 0-1 oral hygiene recommendations all or most days are also more likely to say their child has not had a dental visit in over a year.

Reference: https://mottpoll.org/reports/oral-hygiene-key-healthy-smiles