Association between Toothbrushing and Cancer Risk

Akifumi Enomoto; Yuto Takada; Takeshi Shimoide; Atsushi-Doksa Lee; Yuko Kinoshita; Miku Kawaguchi; Yasuhiro Kakiuchi; Takahiro Tabuchi

doi:10.15280/jlm.2024.14.1.31

Association between Toothbrushing and Cancer Risk

J Lifestyle Med. 2024 Feb 29;14(1):31-37. doi: 10.15280/jlm.2024.14.1.31.

Authors

Akifumi Enomoto¹, Yuto Takada¹, Takeshi Shimoide¹, Atsushi-Doksa Lee¹, Yuko Kinoshita¹, Miku Kawaguchi¹, Yasuhiro Kakiuchi², Takahiro Tabuchi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
² Department of Forensic Medicine, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
³ Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Cancer Control Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Most cancers are lifestyle-related and are thus preventable. Lifestyle habits can be improved by individual efforts; for example, because oral health is suggested to play a preventive role in cancer risk, toothbrushing is considered a critical and fundamental measure for controlling oral health. This study aimed to investigate the association between toothbrushing and cancer risk.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey, a large-scale (n = 32,000) online survey conducted in 2022, were used. From September 12 to October 19, 2022, questionnaires were distributed to candidates selected by simple random sampling from a Japanese Internet research company's panelists to represent the Japanese population. The association between toothbrushing and cancer risk according to cancer prevalence was then analyzed.

Results: Among all 32,000 participants, 2,495 (7.8%) who had any cancer previously were analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between toothbrushing habit and cancer risk.

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that daily toothbrushing is essential for maintaining oral health and preventing cancer.

Keywords: Life style; Neoplasms; Oral health; Risk factors; Toothbrushing.