The Impact of Sibling Behavior on Oral Health: A Narrative Review

OBJECTIVE: The repetition of any behavior until it becomes a learned behavior begins in childhood. Oral health practices being no exception to this, are also acquired at this tender age, and have the potential of greatly affecting one in their lives. Oral health behaviors are learned through a multifactorial interplay, of which the family is a crucial and relatively unexplored area and will be highlighted in this review. This review discusses gender differences among siblings in relation to oral health, familial influence on acquisition and maintenance of oral hygiene habits, media influence on oral health attitudes and more. METHODS: A thorough literature search between 1972 and 2017 was done using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, results reviewed, prioritized, and findings compiled. The keywords of the search strategy was as below: Siblings, sibling behavior, sibling oral health, siblings in dentistry, maternal oral health, family influence on oral health. 35 studies were evaluated for the review. The keywords were limited to activities of siblings and their behavior patterns in relation to dentistry and oral health. RESULTS: Results showed that sibling dynamics have been involved in influencing the learning of oral health behaviors in children. Other factors include peer pressure and maternal influences. CONCLUSION: Sibling relationships play a vital role in shaping behavior characteristics including tooth brushing, oral hygiene, dental perceptions, and snacking behaviors which are pertinent to dentistry.