[A PhD completed. Reinforcing parental volition to improve the brushing of their children s teeth].

This research focused on the applicability of the health behaviour change model Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) to promote the brushing of children's teeth by parents. Four topics were studied to this end: the perspective on oral health and oral health care among Dutch Moroccan mothers, the effects of previous HAPA-based interventions in dentistry, the development of a HAPA-based questionnaire for parents, and the importance of HAPA constructs in parents of children at high risk for caries. The study indicated that HAPA-based interventions, particularly when they strengthen parents' volitional ideas and skills, appear suitable for guiding parents in translating their motivation to brush their children's teeth into action. The findings of this study underline the potential of and the call for the development of a HAPA-based intervention in paediatric dentistry.