Knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers of 3-6 year old children about the importance of baby teeth in Saveh city in 2021

Maintaining the oral health of young children is influenced by the knowledge and beliefs of parents, especially their mothers. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of mothers of 3-6 year old children in Saveh city in 2021 about the importance of deciduous teeth.

This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 400 mothers of children aged 3-6 years of Saveh health centers. The participants were selected by multi-stage sampling method. Data collection method was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the constructs of KAP. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test, One-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

Mean and standard deviation of knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 8.6 ± 2.3, 35.5 ± 6.6 and 7.8 ±2.1, respectively. The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between knowledge with attitude (r = 0.33) and attitude with practice (r = 0.72) (p <0.05). In total, 8% of children used dental floss once a day, 7.2% used a toothbrush once a day, and 50% used it 2 or 3 times a week. The most important reason for going to the dentist (61.7%) was the child's toothache.

The results showed that the studied mothers had moderate knowledge, and poor attitude and practice. Due to the poor attitude and practice of mothers in flossing and brushing, designing and implementing an educational program for mothers on the importance of caring for deciduous teeth, it is recommended.