PARENTAL PERCEPTION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRIMARY DENTITION AND CHILDREN'S CARIES EXPERIENCE

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted to ascertain the relationship between parental oral health perception on the importance of the deciduous dentition and the dental caries status of their preschool children. Clinical oral examination of the preschool children was performed and self-administered questionnaires were given to the parents to be completed. Four hundred and eight preschool children were examined and 390 of their parents responded to the self-administered questionnaire. Those parents who brought their children for regular dental check-up at least once a year; favoured restorative treatment and practised tooth brushing habit before bedtime were more likely to have children with significantly lower mean 'dft' as well as higher proportions of caries free mouth (> 50 %). Those children who started early in practising tooth brushing also had better dental caries status but the differences were not significant. However, there were no significant and appreciable differences in their mean 'dft' with respect to the frequencies of tooth brushing per day. It was concluded that parents with better oral health perception as reflected by those parents who (a) practiced regular dental check-up for their children; (b) favoured restorative treatment for their children's decayed deciduous teeth; (c) ensured their children brushed their teeth before bedtime are associated with better dental caries status of their preschool children.