Open AccessThe assessment of parents’ knowledge about toothbrushing of preschool children
Author(s) -
Aneta Munteanu,
Rodica Luca,
Cătălina Farcaşiu,
Ioana-Andreea Stanciu,
Titus-Alexandru Farcaşiu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
romanian journal of stomatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2069-6078
pISSN - 1843-0805
DOI - 10.37897/rjs.2015.4.2
Subject(s) - medicine , oral hygiene , dentition , oral health , hygiene , family medicine , pediatrics , dentistry , pathology
Aim. To assess the knowledge of the preschool children’ parents about their toothbrushing. Material and method. During the first visit to the clinic, a questionnaire about the mother’ education level and children’ dental hygiene was given to the parents of 276 children aged 1 to 5 years, with caries in primary dentition. Results. a) 194 parents (70.29%) filled the questionnaire; b) in 15.46% of children (aged between 1 year 3 months and 3 years 3 months) the toothbrushing has not been yet introduced; most of the mothers with ≤10 classes started the toothbrushing after the age of 2 and mothers with middle and higher education level – in most cases after the age of 1; c) in 41.50% of children the toothbrushing was performed 1 time/day or less; d) 29.37% of children brushed their teeth without a parental surveillance and 48.75% with supervision. Conclusions. 1) Only in 5% of children toothbrushing was started before the age of 1; 2) About 30% of children had no parental supervision during their toothbrushing; 3) In a large percentage of mothers, especially those with lower education level, the knowledge about oral health care of preschool children are scarce.