Dental caries is a disease of childhood social disa
dvantage being considered as a marker of family dep
rivation
and relative poverty. School-based programmes such
as, ‘Winning Smiles’ (WS) have been used to promote
toothbrushing with luoride toothpaste in children r
esiding in areas of high social deprivation. Withou
t a clear
understanding of the underlying toothbrushing dynam
ic how could WS achieve its deined aim to promote
toothbrushing as a self-care practice in children r
esiding in areas of greatest deprivation? The need
to research
the dynamics of childhood toothbrushing remained. T
he aim of this qualitative exploration was twofold,
irst
to explore children’s views of toothbrushing and se
condly, to relect, if possible, on the degree to wh
ich the
children’s views and experiences can aid an underst
anding of the power dynamics of toothbrushing pract
ices
in childhood. In order to achieve these aims it was
necessary to use a child-centred approach to glean
the
thoughts, values and opinions of the participating
children. The children who participated were aged b
e-
tween 8-9-years-old and resided and attended school
s in the most deprived parts of Dublin and Belfast.
The
data analysis was theoretically underpinned by the
work of Foucault and Nettleton. The children had a
series
of toothbrushing rules which were a conglomerate of
‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’. The rules relected an element
of con
-
lict in the children’s behaviour since they describ
ed what the children felt they ‘should’ do (‘toothb
rushing
rules’), as well as what they ‘actually’ did (‘toot
hbrushing practices’). The toothbrushing rules were
mainly
based on their parental household rules which the c
hildren incorporated into their toothbrushing pract
ices.
It is suggested that children incorporate informati
on from parents, school-based programmes and the de
ntist
into their toothbrushing practices. This qualitativ
e exploration has allowed the process of understand
ing the
power dynamics associated with children’s toothbrushing t
o begin. In order to gain a greater understanding
from the child’s perspective greater time is need t
o appreciate how children incorporate what appears
to be
a rather mundane aspect of everyday life into their
health repertoire
