The Correlation between Tooth Brushing Frequency and Blood Indicators in Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Observational Study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze the effects of tooth brushing frequency on blood indicators among adolescents and to preliminarily explore the effects of tooth brushing frequency on general health.MethodsUsing convenience sampling method, the study included the students of class 2021 of Jining No. 7 Middle School and student athletes from the Jining Sports Training Center. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to investigate the correlation between tooth brushing frequency and blood indicators such as eosinophil percentage (EOS%), eosinophil count (EOS#), basophil percentage (BAS%), basophil count (BAS#), superoxide dismutase (SOD), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and uric acid (UA).ResultsA total of 305 students were included (167 from Jining No. 7 Middle School, 138 from Jining Sports Training Centre), with 192 (62.95%) males and 113 (37.05%) females. They were divided into three groups based on daily teeth brushing frequency: ≤1 time (40.33%, 123/305), 2 times (53.77%, 164/305), and ≥3 times (5.90%, 18/305).Univariate linear regression analysis showed that brushing twice daily was negatively correlated with EOS%, EOS#, BAS%, and BAS#(all β > 0, all P 0, P=0.036, P=0.012), while brushing three or more times daily was negatively correlated with UA(β 0, P=0.044), and in female adolescents, brushing three or more times daily was negatively correlated with UA(β < 0, P=0.014).ConclusionThe adolescent tooth brushing frequency correlates with several blood indicators affecting general health, suggesting that there may be a potential association between oral health and general health.

Keywords

• brushing frequency
• blood indicators
• whole body health
• oral care