Knowledge And Awareness on Oral Care Among Mothers of Children Less Than Five Years Old: A Survey

Introduction: Health-related behaviors are influenced by knowledge and awareness, with oral health being no exception. It is well-known that oral diseases are influenced by social determinants. Children depend on their parents and caretakers for maintenance of their oral health so oral health knowledge of mothers could be associated with the status of their children’s oral health.

Aim: The aim of this survey was to evaluate and create awareness on oral care among mothers of children less than 5 years old.

Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted among mothers of children less than five years old using a questionnaire in google forms. The Questionnaire was framed which mainly targeted awareness on dental attitude, knowledge and practice of mothers regarding their children’s oral health. The survey was done in January 2021. The results were obtained and statistically analysed through SPSS software, chi square test was done and represented as pie-chart and bar graphs.

Results: Out of 100 mothers who participated in the study, 66.09% have studied up to primary/high school level and 33.91% have qualified university level. About 54.78% of the participants agreed that the importance of oral health to general health, 28.70% disagreed. The association of mothers' education and their opinion on children's age on brushing their teeth shows that the majority of primary/high school mothers agreed that children should brush their teeth older than 5 years than other participants and it was statistically significant p value=0.04(>0.05))

Conclusion: Mothers who are graduates are more aware of the importance of oral health in children, treatment of dental caries, and brushing technique than mothers who qualified with school education.