Parental Awareness and Knowledge toward their Children’s Oral Health in the City of Dammam, Saudi Arabia

INTRODUCTION

Dental complications, including caries, are mainly controlled by the level of oral hygiene.^1,2 It has previously been proven that untreated dental caries promotes painful experiences which may lead to emergency visits, premature tooth loss resulting in altered chewing, as well as defacement and destruction to the permeant dentition in youngsters.³ Therefore, the need for enriched oral hygiene from early childhood is of great importance to render the above-listed issues. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has recommended dental brushing using a soft toothbrush of age-appropriate size to be performed two times a day.⁴ The academy has also stated that it is the guardian’s responsibility to perform this procedure if their children are still not dependent.⁵ Thus, it is of great importance to highlight the significance of establishing parent awareness for children’s dental needs as this will decrease future oral health issues.

It has been recently noticed that a large number of parents do not give enough attention to their children’s oral health status and assume that their brushing is of an appropriate level.⁶ Children of this specific group tend to brush their teeth without adult supervision,^7,8 others, unfortunately, skip the brushing habit as their parents do not show any obligations for it^9–11 and do not believe in regular dental checkups before permanent teeth erupt,¹² unless pain is present.¹² This neglection enforces the need for awareness spread toward enhanced dental oral hygiene and preventative acts.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

METHODS AND SUBJECTS

RESULTS (TABLES 1 TO 7 AND FIGS 1 TO 3)

DISCUSSION

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Dammam city from September to December 2019 to assess guardian awareness of their youngsters’ oral health. For this study, a sample size of 248 parents who fulfilled inclusion criteria was selected, about 51% of participants were fathers and 499% were mothers, 90% of participants above the age of 26 years old, and most of the participants had a secondary certificate or university degree 38% and 45%, respectively, majority 90% were married and about 80% medium monthly income level. A solid acknowledgment of parent understanding, together with their skills and perception, is essential for the promotion of oral health awareness in children. It has been proven that the positive parent attitude toward dental health, the healthful their child’s oral status is.¹³

This present study indicated that 64% of parents were checked their children’s teeth, 44% of them received dental health information from the dentist, while only 38% visited the dentist after 1 year and the average overall knowledge of parents toward dental health was medium 7.97 points out of 16.0 points. Many studies indicated that many parents had positive perceptions toward their children’s dental health. However, it also reported a high percentage of mothers neglecting the importance of preserving primary dentition as they saw deciduous teeth as temporary and would be eventually replaced.¹⁴ Thus, early childhood caries did not create any threats to those mothers, which is a serious concern because dental caries holds a cumulative process and would affect those children later on throughout their lives.¹⁵ Untreated deciduous dental caries increases the risk of having permanent dentition caries which is accompanied by altered social self-esteem, and growth deficiencies.¹⁶

Also, the current study found that there was a statistically significant relationship between parents’ type, educational level, and overall knowledge related to oral health, mothers, and parents who hold university degrees were more aware related to children’s dental health. These findings are matching to multiple studies which have successfully proven advanced mothers’ awareness and their unambiguous viewpoints regarding children’s oral health through maintaining caries-friendly diet and constant toothbrushing. A correlation was located between high socioeconomic groups, well-educated families, and their appreciation of primary dentition importance.^17,18 finally, our exploration has revealed negative statistical significance between age group, number of children, monthly income level, and overall knowledge related to oral health, these findings differed from one study conducted by Kim Seow.¹⁷

CONCLUSION

Based on our study, we have concluded that parents’ perception of their children’s oral health in the Dammam region is relatively medium, so general awareness of parents’ knowledge should be raised by conducting effective oral health programs and interventions.

REFERENCES

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