背景：口腔健康是人體的健康重要指標，許多研究也證實口腔疾病會誘發系統性疾病。2017年全球疾病負擔(The Global Burden of Diseases, GBD )指出超過35億人患有口腔疾病。兒童乳牙齲齒不僅會影響恆牙發育，持續不良的口腔健康習慣也會造成恆牙齲齒。故口腔健康促進，應從兒童時期即著手開始。目的：本研究主要目的在探討臨床上兒童牙科就診之兒童的主要照顧者口腔健康識能，及兒童日常生活口腔不良習慣對兒童口腔健康問題的影響。方法：本研究招募4~12歲就診於員林基督教醫院兒童牙科門診之兒童及其主要照顧者共206人。以中文版成人口腔健康識能量表（Mandarin version of the Oral Health Literacy-Adult Questionnaire,MOHL-AQ）測量主要照顧者之口腔健康識能分數，並收集主要照顧者及兒童人口學基本資料、兒童是否有口腔不良習慣以及從病歷資料收集口腔健康問題之數據。以統計軟體SPSS 20，將人口學資料、臨床資料等背景變項資料以描述性統計、無母數分析及卡方檢定法驗證變項間的關係，當統計p值小於0.05代表具有統計上顯著差異性。結果：本研究發現兒童口腔不良習慣中以磨牙(53.73%)、口呼吸(38.81%)、咬嘴唇咬指甲(35.07%)發生比例較高。主要照顧者教育程度越高其口腔健康識能分數也愈高(p<0.001)。主要照顧者口腔健康識能分數愈高，兒童發生咬嘴唇咬指甲的情況較多(p=0.012)、有較多比例讓兒童做矯正(p=0.038)且兒童發生蛀牙比例較少(p=0.002)。兒童若有口呼吸(p=0.026)與舌頭前推(p=0.014)的習慣，其做矯正比例顯著較高。結論：主要照顧者口腔健康識能程度高，對兒童口腔健康有正面的影響(蛀牙較少、較高比例讓兒童矯正牙齒)。在臨床上應建議加強主要照顧者口腔健康識能並加強宣導口呼吸及舌頭前推會導致齒列不正的觀念，以促進兒童口腔健康。 Background：Oral health is an important indicator of human health, and many studies have revealed the oral diseases causes systemic diseases. In 2017, the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) had revealed that more than 3.5 billion people suffer from oral diseases. More than 530 million children worldwide suffer from deciduous tooth decay. Children’s deciduous tooth decay will cause the incidence of permanent tooth decay. The persistent bad oral health habits also affect the development of permanent teeth. Therefore, the oral health promotion should begin since childhood. Purpose：This study aims to investigate the effects of the oral health literacy score of the caregivers and the children’s bad oral habits on children’s oral health problems among the children who visit the pediatric dental clinic. We anticipate the research outcomes could find the potential hazards that affect children’s oral health and provide the reference to the clinical end to raise health strategies in pediatric oral preventive dentistry. Methods：We will enroll 200 primary oral health caregivers who take 4-12 years old children to the dental clinic in Yuanlin Christian Hospital. We will test the caregivers’ oral health literacy using the mandarin version of the oral health literacy-adult questionnaire (MOHL-AQ), collect their demographic data, record their children’s bad oral habits, and record the oral health problems in the medical records. We will calculate the correlation of each variable with SPSS software. Results：This study revealed the leading prevalence of children’s bad oral habits were grinding teeth (53.73%), mouth breathing (38.81%), and lip and nail biting (35.07%). The primary caregiver who has a higher education level gets a higher oral health literacy score (p=0.001); their children have more incidence of lip and nail biting (p=0.012), a greater proportion receive orthodontic treatment (p=0.038), and the lower incidence of tooth decay (p=0.002). A higher proportion of children who have mouth breathing (p=0.026) and tongue pushing (p=0.014) receive orthodontic treatment. Conclusions：The primary caregivers with a high level of oral health literacy positively affect children's oral health (less tooth decay and a higher proportion conducting orthodontic treatment). We suggested the clinical end should enhance the primary caregiver’s oral health literacy and announce the concept that the mouth breathing and tongue pushing can lead to malocclusion to promote children’s oral health.
