Oral and Dental Health Knowledge and Attitudes among Parents of Children

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate parents’ knowledge and attitudes level on oral and dental health. Methods: One hundred and thirty parents of children aged 6-12 years, were invited to participate in the study. A 33-item questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, dental attitude, dietary practices, tooth eruption, dental caries, and oral hygiene practices, was distributed to parents. The relationship between categorical variables was tested with the Chi-square test. Results: The sample comprised of 100 parents with a mean age of 37.1 ± 6.4. The knowledge and attitudes towards dental caries and oral health habits among parents did not differ significantly according to the parents’ gender, education level, or dental chair experience. There was a statistically significant difference in the responses of the first primary tooth and the first exfoliating primary tooth according to the gender of the parents (p=0.031, p=0.002, respectively). Although the education level of the parents did not affect the answers about the number of primary and permanent teeth, a statistically significant difference was found in the time of first primary tooth eruption (p=0.008). Conclusion: The study showed that parents do not have enough knowledge and awareness of dental caries and oral healthcare. Oral healthcare should be promoted as a part of general health and the awareness of the public should be increased.