Table 3.
Unadjusted and adjusted regression analyses of caregiver beliefs about topical fluoride for caregivers of CSHCN and caregivers of healthy children
| Topical fluoride beliefs | Caregivers of all children n (%) |
Caregivers of CSHCNb N = 87 n (%) |
Caregivers of healthy children N = 433 n (%) |
Unadjusted odds ratiod (95% CI)c | p-value | Adjusteda odds ratiod (95% CI)c | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On a scale of 0–10, how concerned are you about topical fluoride for your child? | |||||||
| Some degree of concern | 259 (49.8%) | 44 (50.6%) | 215 (49.7%) | 1.02 (0.65–1.62) | 0.92 | 1.02 (0.61–1.73) | 0.93 |
| Not concerned | 258 (49.6%) | 43 (49.4%) | 215 (49.7%) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 3 (0.6%) | 0 | 3 (0.7%) | ||||
| I think topical fluoride is harmless for my child | |||||||
| Agree | 325 (62.5%) | 61 (70.1%) | 264 (61.0%) | 1.50 (0.90–2.48) | 0.12 | 1.78 (0.99–3.19) | 0.05 |
| Disagree | 187 (36.0%) | 25 (28.7%) | 162 (37.4%) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 8 (1.5%) | 1 (1.1%) | 7 (1.6%) | ||||
| I think there is enough proof that topical fluoride is safe for my child | |||||||
| Agree | 386 (74.2%) | 72 (82.8%) | 314 (72.5%) | 1.70 (0.93–3.08) | 0.08 | 1.86 (0.94–3.67) | 0.07 |
| Disagree | 126 (24.2%) | 15 (17.2%) | 111 (25.6) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 8 (1.5%) | 0 | 8 (1.8%) | ||||
| I am concerned topical fluoride may cause learning problems for my child | |||||||
| Concerned | 168 (32.3%) | 25 (28.7%) | 143 (33.0%) | 0.80 (0.48–1.33) | 0.39 | 0.96 (0.53–1.72) | 0.88 |
| Not concerned | 340 (65.4%) | 61 (70.1%) | 279 (64.4%) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 12 (2.3%) | 1 (1.1%) | 11 (2.5%) | ||||
| I am concerned topical fluoride may cause my child to have autism | |||||||
| Concerned | 90 (17.3%) | 13 (14.9%) | 77 (18.2%) | 0.80 (0.42–1.51) | 0.49 | 0.95 (0.43–2.07) | 0.89 |
| Not concerned | 418 (80.4%) | 73 (83.9%) | 345 (81.8%) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 12 (2.3%) | 1 (1.1%) | 11 (2.5%) | ||||
| I am concerned topical fluoride may hurt my child’s IQ | |||||||
| Concerned | 127 (24.4%) | 17 (19.5%) | 110 (26.1%) | 0.71 (0.40–1.26) | 0.24 | 0.73 (0.37–1.44) | 0.36 |
| Not concerned | 380 (73.1%) | 68 (78.2%) | 312 (73.9%) | – | – | – | – |
| Missing | 13 (2.5%) | 2 (2.3%) | 11 (2.5%) | ||||
aModel was adjusted for the following confounders: caregiver age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, and household income
bCSHCN, Children with Special Health Care Needs
c95% confidence interval
dOdds ratio is for caregivers of children with special health care needs (reference group: caregivers of healthy children)