Research Studies
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The Association Between Intensive Parenting Attitudes and Topical Fluoride Opposition.Abstract
Original abstract online at
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jphd.70033
Objective
This study’s goal was to investigate the association between intensive parenting attitudes and topical fluoride opposition.
Methods
This was a secondary analysis of data on caregivers’ beliefs about fluoride for their children. An 85-item survey was administered from November 2020 to September 2021 (N = 1135). Participants were eligible if they were an English-speaking caregiver of a child under 18 years. The outcome variable was topical fluoride opposition, defined as how opposed the caregiver was to topical fluoride for their child (self-reported scale of 0–10). The explanatory variable was intensive parenting attitudes, defined as the extent of child-centered, time-intensive, and self-sacrificing parenting, measured through a composite score from three survey items. Linear regression was used to test the study hypothesis, adjusting for confounders. All analyses were performed in SPSS.
Results
The mean ± SD caregiver age was 41.7 ± 8.8 years, with most caregivers being women (73.0%), White (55.5%), non-Hispanic (79.3%), having greater than a 4-year degree (28.5%), and having private dental insurance (45.1%). The mean ± SD topical fluoride opposition score was 2.0 ± 3.1, and the mean ± SD intensive parenting attitudes score was 1.7 ± 0.4. After adjusting for confounders, a 1-point increase in intensive parenting attitudes score was associated with a 0.3-point increase in topical fluoride opposition score (95% CI: 0.1, 0.4; p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Intensive parenting attitudes were significantly and positively associated with topical fluoride opposition. Clinicians can utilize these findings to assess caregivers’ intensive parenting attitudes, learn about concerns, and address them by tailoring communication strategies to discuss appropriate risk-based recommendations about topical fluoride.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data Availability Statement
Research data are not shared.
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