# Correlation of Parental and Child Dental Plaque Levels: A Clinical Study
## 3 Results  
In Table 1, we observe that the sample of 98 observations has the following characteristics: The variable PI_PARENTS has a mean of 0.32 with a standard deviation of 0.11, while the variable PI_CHILD has a mean of 0.46 with a standard deviation of 0.19. The average age of the children (**AGE_CHILD**) is 10.15 years, with a variation of 2.46 years. Regarding the gender of the children, there are 37 females (38%) and 61 males (62%). As for the variable **ID_PARENTS**, the sample is evenly divided between mothers and fathers, with 49 observations (50%) from mothers and 49 observations (50%) from fathers. These data provide an overview of the distribution of variables in the sample, highlighting the balanced composition of mothers and fathers, along with a greater proportion of male children. For the mothers' group, the variable PI_PARENTS has a mean of 0.31 with a standard deviation of 0.10. The mean PI_CHILD is 0.45 with a standard deviation of 0.19. The average age of the children (**AGE_CHILD**) is 9.96 years, with a standard deviation of 2.44 years. Within this group, there are 22 girls (45%) and 27 boys (55%). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Characteristic** & **n = 98** \\ \hline PI\_PARENTS & 0.32 (0.11) \\ PI\_CHILD & 0.46 (0.19) \\ AGE\_CHILD & 10.15 (2.46) \\ SEX\_CHILD & \\ F & 37/98 (38\%) \\ M & 61/98 (62\%) \\ ID\_PARENTS & \\ MOTHER & 49/98 (50\%) \\ FATHER & 49/98 (50\%) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of Parent and Child Variables in the Sample (n = 98). For the fathers' group, the variable PI_PARENTS has a mean of 0.33 with a standard deviation of 0.12. The mean PI_CHILD is 0.46, with a standard deviation of 0.20. The average age of the children is 10.25 years, with a standard deviation of 2.50 years. Within this group, there are 15 girls (31%) and 34 boys (69%) (Table 2). In Figure 2, we observe the histogram of the values for PI CHILD, showing the distribution of the data. We can see that there is a greater concentration below 0.5. These values are independent of who takes the child to the dentist. Analyzing the results, we observed that the model fits the data well, with standardized residuals ranging from \(-1.9110\) to 4.0733. This indicates that, although most observations are well explained, there are some extreme cases. The coefficient for PI_PARENTS is highly significant and positive (\(p<0.0001\)), suggesting that an increase in the parents' plaque index (regardless of who takes the child to the dentist) is strongly associated with an increase in the child's plaque index (PI_CHILD). The child's age (**AGE_CHILD**) and gender (**SEX_CHILD**) did not have a statistically significant effect on PI_CHILD. The identification of who takes the child to the dentist (**ID_PARENTS**), while marginally significant (\(p=0.0589\)), suggests that when the father accompanies the child to the dentist, this may be associated with an increase in the proportion of PI_CHILD. Furthermore, the interaction between ID_PARENTS and PI_PARENTS is significant (\(p=0.0344\)), indicating that the effect of the parents' plaque index on PI_CHILD may vary depending on who takes the child to the dentist. The accuracy of the model, measured by the Phi coefficient, is significantly high, indicating considerable variability in the data. With a pseudo R-squared of 0.2578, the model explains about 28% of the variation in PI_CHILD, suggesting moderate explanatory power (Tables 3 and 4). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Characteristic** & **Mother, N = 49** & **Father, n = 49** \\ \hline PI_PARENTS & 0.31 (0.10) & 0.33 (0.12) \\ PI_CHILD & 0.45 (0.19) & 0.46 (0.20) \\ AGE_CHILD & 9.96 (2.44) & 10.35 (2.50) \\ SEX_CHILD & & \\ F & 22/49 (45\%) & 15/49 (31\%) \\ M & 27/49 (55\%) & 34/49 (69\%) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Comparison of Descriptive Statistics Between Mothers’ and Fathers’ Groups (n = 49 Each). Figure 2: Histogram PI CHILD.