Evaluation of Knowledge and Attitudes of Primary Student's Parents about Fissure Sealants, Florid Therapy and Preventive Orthodontic Treatment in Shiraz

The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and performance of primary students’ parents about preventive oral services and its relationship with their education in Shiraz.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 parents of elementary students in Shiraz in 2015. A checklist was handed in to each student to take home to be completed by the parent(s). Knowledge was determined based on the percentage of correct responses, and the use of preventive oral services for children was considered as attitude. Data were analyzed with SPSS 17, using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, independent t-test and path analysis (p value A total of 400 subjects, including 95 fathers (23.8%), 290 mothers (72.5%) and 15 other people (3.8%), participated in this survey. The subjects’ knowledge score on preventive dental services was 46.3 ± 20.4 out of 100. Knowledge of parents exhibited a direct and significant correlation with their educational level (p value 0.05). Parents with more knowledge exhibited higher attitude levels (p value = 0.001).
This study showed that parental knowledge about preventive dental services was insufficient; therefore, it is recommended that their awareness be increased through educational programs.