Demographic factors associated with oral health behaviour in children aged 5-17 years in Algeria.

Objectives: Oral health plays an important role in determining quality of life, general health, and well-being in both children and adults. The wide variation in oral health status around the world is determined by multiple factors, including oral health behaviour (OHB). The aim of this study was to explore the association of some demographic factors with OHB in children aged 5 to 17 in Algeria.

Methods: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data involving all children aged 5 to 17 in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey database, conducted in 2018-2019 (MICS-6), i.e., 17019 children (8882 boys and 8137 girls). Using a logistic regression model, we assessed the contribution of different demographic, economic, and geographical factors to children's OHB.

Results: The overall prevalence of good oral hygiene practices was 9.32% (8.30% for boys and 10.36% for girls). The main factors associated with good OHB were gender (OR=1.27 [95% CI = 1.135-1.437]), residence (OR=0.641 [0.553-0.742]), geographical area particularly in the southern and highlands regions (OR=0.369; [0.28-0.48]), older age, mother's level of education (OR=2.61 [2.12-3.21]), employment status, and economic level (OR=3.30 [2.64-4.12]).

Conclusions: The identification of factors related to OHB in children is of great interest in developing countries such as Algeria, to adopt planned and targeted health promoting interventions for children, adolescents, and parents.