Determinants of Oral Health Behaviour in Pre-schoolers: Application of the Theory of Health Belief Model

Abstract

Oral and dental health behavior greatly influences the occurrence of dental disease, where children aged five years have the highest incidence of dental disease, which is 93%. Regarding the use of healthy behavior factors, people are still not aware that oral and dental health behavior is only 2.8% in the five-year age group. This study aims to determine the predictive factors of oral health behavior in pre-school children based on the theory of health belief model, Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory. The cross-sectional study method involved 200 mothers and children in the city of Jambi with a sampling technique using purposive sampling. The results showed that the mean standard deviation of the children's age was 5.6 ± 1.1 years (range 5-6), and 52% were girls. The mean (SD) score for oral health behavior was 4, 8 (±1.9) out of 10. Regression analysis showed a positive relationship between all HBM, TPB and SCT structures on oral health behavior. Conclude that Health Belief Model was an important predictor of children's oral health behavior (p < 0.001). Effective promotional interventions can be designed based on these predictors to help improve children's oral hygiene behavior.