Practising good oral health behaviours is important for preventing diseases of the mouth, head, and neck. Keeping the mouth and teeth clean by brushing and flossing teeth daily can prevent cavities and gum disease. Research shows that children with poor oral health are more likely to have dental pain, miss school, and perform poorer in school than children with good oral health.[1]
About the Measure
The Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) collects information related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants.[2] The CCHS asks youth, aged 14 to 18, how often they brush their teeth. Youth who report brushing their teeth "twice or more times per day" are categorized as regularly brushing their teeth.
Key Findings
Between 2009-10 and 2013-14, the percentage of youth, aged 14 to 18, who reported regularly brushing their teeth decreased from 85.3% to 78.4%. The percentage of youth who reported brushing their teeth once per day increased from 12.0% to 20.0%. This data can be found in the downloadable Excel file at the bottom of this page.
Source: Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2009-2014, extracted August, 2016. Prepared by Health Analytics Team, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
Limitations
The CCHS collects self-reported data and is subject to response and recall bias.
[1] Jackson, S. L., Vann Jr, W. F., Kotch, J. B., Pahel, B. T., & Lee, J. Y. (2011). Impact of poor oral health on children's school attendance and performance. American Journal of Public Health, 101(10), 1900-1906.
[2] Statistics Canada. (2016). Canadian community heath survey - Annual component (CCHS). Ottawa, ON: Available at: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3226