Knowledge and Attitude of Elementary School Children’s Mothers towards Pediatric Dental Care in Iran

This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of mothers of elementary school children toward pediatric dental care in Iran.

A cross-sectional study was conducted on mothers of 254 elementary school children between the ages of 6 and 12 years residing in Qom City, Iran, in 2021. Data collection was performed using a standard questionnaire with confirmed validity and reliability for the Iranian population, which was distributed to mothers online. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, Mann-Whitney Kruskal-Wallis, one-sample colmogorov smirnov.

The response rate was 30.97%. The mean age of mothers was 35.88±6.62 years. The majority of them had a Bachelor's degree, while 21% had a high school diploma or lower degree, and 79% had a degree higher than a high school diploma. The mean knowledge score of mothers was 31.71±4.17 out of 40, and their mean attitude score was 24.19±4.20 out of 30. Among the children, 35.7% were girls, and 64.3% were boys. About 26.8% reported brushing their teeth more than once a day, while 73.2% reported toothbrushing once a day or less. Mothers' age showed no significant correlation with their knowledge (P=0.691) or attitude (P=0.155). Similarly, their educational level showed no significant correlation with their knowledge (P=0.355) or attitude (P=0.155).

The mothers of elementary school children assessed in this study demonstrated a relatively high level of knowledge and attitude toward pediatric dental care. Additionally, mothers' educational level had a significant correlation with the frequency of toothbrushing reported by their children.