AIM: Preschool children are dependent upon their parents for their dental care. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and beliefs of parents towards oral health and dental care of their children aged 1–4 years in an Indian population. METHODS: Parents of 620 preschool children, who visited Krishna Dental College and Hospital, Ghaziabad, India for dental treatment were recruited into this study and completed a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: It was revealed that the lack of knowledge and awareness of importance of the primary teeth, dental fear of the parents and the myths associated with dental treatment, created barriers to early preventive dental care of preschool children. The oral hygiene and feeding practices were found to be disappointing and the knowledge about the essential role of fluoride and transmission of Streptococcus mutans bacteria was found to be limited. The elders in the family, especially grandparents, highly influenced the decisions of the parents regarding dental treatment of their children. CONCLUSIONS: Parents’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about the importance of dental health need to be improved. Coordinated efforts by paediatricians, paediatric dentists and other health professionals are required to impart dental health education about oral hygiene, feeding practices, importance of the primary dentition and to promote preventive dental programmes.

Parental knowledge, attitudes and cultural beliefs regarding oral health and dental care of preschool

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the infant oral health (IOH) related knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of parents in Udaipur, India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 470 parents visiting the Department of Pediatrics, Rabindranath Tagore Medical College and Hospital. A 32-item questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics and questions pertaining to KAP regarding IOH care was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, Student’s t -test, one-way analysis of variance, and Scheffe’s test were used for the statistical analysis ( P ≤ 0.05). Results: Majority of the parents had good knowledge regarding tooth eruption, but had a poor knowledge of cleaning (58.7%) and development of caries (48.5%). Parents in the age group of 25-30 years showed significantly higher mean knowledge (25.90 ± 3.93), attitude (15.71 ± 2.23), and practice (20.09 ± 2.50) scores. Female parents showed a significantly higher mean knowledge (21.45 ± 4.27) and attitude scores (14.97 ± 2.15) than the male parents. Conclusion: Parent’s knowledge on IOH care was inadequate. Health professionals, who are the first to come into contact with expectant and new mothers, need to disseminate appropriate and accurate information about oral health-care for infants. Key Words: Attitude, knowledge, oral health, parents, practices

Infant oral health: Knowledge, attitude and practices of parents in Udaipur, India.

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a severe form of dental decay with multi-factorial origin. Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence and related risk factors of ECC among preschool children residing in rural and urban areas of Trivandrum district in Kerala. Methods: A sample size of 1329 preschool children of <60 months of age was randomly selected from rural and urban areas of Trivandrum and decayed missing filled teeth indices were recorded. A standardized questionnaire was distributed to the parents. The data were subjected to SPSS version 16 and statistically analyzed with Chi-square test. Results: Prevalence of ECC in the study sample was found to be 54%. Furthermore, a positive association was obtained between ECC and age of the child, location of residence, dietary habits, and oral hygiene habits. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to implement preventive and curative oral health programs for preschool children in rural and urban areas.

Prevalence of early childhood caries among preschool children in Trivandrum and its association with various risk factors.

Aim: Oral health‑related knowledge, attitude, and practices shown by preschool children determine their oral health status in the future. This in turn depends on the knowledge, attitude, and practices inculcated into them by their parents. Objective: The objective was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of mothers toward their children’s oral health. Materials and Methods: A cross‑sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 422 mothers of preschool children who visited dental colleges in Mumbai, India. Data were collected through an interview, using a structured proforma. Results: Majority (60.4%) had poor knowledge, 53.8% exhibited poor attitude and 58.8% were following fair practices towards a children’s oral health. Knowledge regarding the role of fluorides, causes and prevention of dental caries, gum disease, malocclusion were found to be inadequate. Conclusion: This study showed that mothers had poor knowledge and attitude towards a children’s oral heath due to which majority were following poor oral health practices.

http://www.iadrsd.org/wp-content/journal/JDRSD_4_14R11.pdf

Knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers toward their children's oral health: A questionnaire survey among subpopulation in Mumbai (India)

Background: Adoption of consistent behavioral habits inchildhood takes place at home, with the parents especially themother, being the primary model for behavior. Tooth brushinghabits which is learnt during early years of life, is deeply ingrainedin the child’s mind and it is expected that this leads to anadaptation of good oral hygiene in their later life.Objectives: To assess the tooth brushing habits of preschoolchildren and to determine the role and amount of supervisiongiven to them by parents.Study design: A pretested self-designed questionnaire wasused to collect information from parents of 130 preschoolchildren in Anganwadi and Kindergarten in Mangalore. Statisticalanalysis was done and Chi-square test was used.Results: Tooth brushing habits in these children was started ata mean age of 22.4 months (SD 8.4).62% of the preschoolchildren used toothbrush and toothpaste for cleaning teeth andbrushing habits were mainly (84%) introduced by mothers.Seventy-one percent of the children were cooperative when theywere introduced to tooth brushing.Conclusion: Preschool children of Mangalore were introducedto tooth brushing at a mean age of 22.4 months. Mothers playeda vital role in introducing and teaching the child how to brush. Inchildren less than 10 months of age tooth brushing was notstarted at all.

/pdf/parental-attitudes-and-tooth-brushing-habits-in-preschool-3q17owlanz.pdf

Parental Attitudes and Tooth Brushing Habits in Preschool Children in Mangalore, Karnataka: A Cross-sectional Study.

Children under the age of 5 years generally spend most of their time with their parents and guardians, especially mothers, even when they attend pre-schools or nurseries. It has been found that young children's oral health maintenance and outcomes are influenced by their parent's knowledge and beliefs. This study was done to assess the mother's knowledge about the oral health of their pre-school children in Moradabad, India. Mothers of children aged 1-4 years, attending the hospital for vaccination or regular checkups in the pediatric division of government hospitals, were invited to participate in the study. A 20-item questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, dietary practices, oral hygiene practices and importance of deciduous teeth, was distributed to their mothers, during their visit to the hospital. Responses of the mothers were recorded on a Likert Scale. The sample comprised 406 mothers, with the mean age of children being 3.8 years. Three hundred (73.8%) mothers had a good knowledge about diet and dietary practices, while only 110 (27.1%) and 103 (25.4%) mothers were found to have a good knowledge about the importance of oral hygiene practices and importance of deciduous teeth, respectively. Mothers with higher educational qualification and information gained through dentist had a better knowledge about child's oral health. Oral hygiene habits and dietary habits are established during pre-school days and the parents, especially mothers, function as role models for their children.

V Gupta

Papers

Mother's knowledge about pre-school child's oral health.