Assessment of parental knowledge and attitudes toward primary teeth

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate parental knowledge and attitudes toward primary teeth, including their number, eruption times and impact on permanent teeth. Additionally, to assess parents’ and caregivers’ awareness of dental visits and oral hygiene. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among parents and caregivers of healthy children up to 18 years old. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed online and in person using the snowball sampling strategy. The questionnaire was available in the Arabic and English languages. All parents and caregivers visiting the Dental Clinics of Taibah University were invited to participate. Those who reported not having children, individuals not residing in Madinah, and individuals who are employed in the dental field were excluded. Results: The p-value of ≤ 0.05 was set to check if the parental level of education affects results significantly. The final number of completed questionnaires was 323. Parental education was significantly associated with knowledge about primary teeth number (p = 0.008), attitudes towards the first dental visit (p = 0.037), knowledge about the frequency of annual dental visits (p < 0.001), whether a child should visit a dentist in the absence of pain (p = 0.003), and whether primary teeth are as important to clean and care for as permanent teeth (p = 0.05). Conclusions: The study reveals disparities in knowledge and attitudes towards primary dental care among parents, with mothers generally demonstrating higher understanding compared to fathers.

Caregivers; Primary teeth; Knowledge; Attitude; Children; Parental education

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