Gender gap in tooth brushing among Korean adolescents.

Background: Previous studies have reported a gender gap in toothbrushing habits. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of tooth brushing after lunch among South Korean schoolboys (29.2%) was approximately half of that among girls (48.5%). During the pandemic, the rate of tooth brushing decreased in both boys and girls. However, the gender gap in toothbrushing decreased by 5.6%, owing to a larger decline in girls. This study aimed to understand the gender gap in toothbrushing before and during the pandemic.

Materials and methods: Based on analyses of data obtained from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2017 to 2022, the nationally representative sample (n = 341,265) comprised middle and high school students. Chi-square tests and weighted probit regressions were performed to evaluate differences in the prevalence of tooth brushing after lunch according to socioeconomic factors, health-related behaviors, and mental health conditions. All analyses were performed using Stata (version 18.0, Stata Corp, College Station, Texas, USA), and statistical significance was set to α = 0.05.

Results: The gender gap cannot be explained by differences in hygiene practices (e.g., handwashing), health behaviors (smoking), parental education, family socioeconomic circumstances, depressive symptoms, or stress. One reason for the decline may be the policy of mandatory mask-wearing in Korean schools during the pandemic.

Conclusions: If girls were more motivated than boys to brush their teeth for cosmetic reasons (clean appearance of teeth or fresh breath), this may account for the larger decrease in tooth brushing among girls during the mandatory mask-wearing policy.