Parental awareness and attitude about oral health habits of their children and its relation to caries experience in 8–10-year-old children

Abstract

Aims: To assess level of parental awareness and attitude about dental health habits of their children, presence of permanent first molars (PFMs) and its association with caries experience. Methods and materials: A cross sectional observational study with dental examination was conducted. A random sample of 372 Libyan schoolchildren aged 8-10 years old in primary schools in Benghazi was collected. Information about parents’ awareness of presence of PFMs and dental health habits of their children was collected through questionnaire completed by parents. Caries was assessed using DMFT index and WHO criteria. Data were entered into SPSS software version 25. Chi- square test, Cochran’s test, sign test and logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results: Only 29% of parents were aware of eruption time of PFMs and 53.8% were aware that this tooth is not going to be changed. There were significance associations between fathers’ educational level and their knowledge about the dental health habits for their children and DMFT of PFMs (P˂0.05). The association between DMFT index and frequency of dental visit was significant (P<0.05). About 27.7% of sample who consumed sugary foods once a day, mean DMFT was (0.77, SD±1.190), and 37.6% who consumed sugary foods twice a day DMFT was (1.04, SD±1.294). Highest percent of decayed teeth was in the permanent lower left molars. Conclusions: Low level of awareness of parents towards dental health habits for their children and high DMFT. Early parental education to raise their awareness about importance of PFMs must continue to avoid further distraction of dental health.