Oral health education in school: parents' attitudes and prevalence of caries in children

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe promotion of oral health in children is highly important, as well as parents' motivation to adopt the attitudes necessary for the maintenance of the health of their children.ObjectiveTo evaluate parents' attitudes about their children's oral health and to determine the prevalence of dental caries.Material and methodA cross-sectional analytical study, conducted with parents and preschoolers from the elementary schools in Araçatuba. A formal instrument was used to collect data, in order to evaluate parents' attitudes regarding their children's oral health. A clinical oral exam was performed in order to determine the decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) and Index of Oral Health–Simplified (IOH–S). The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software.ResultThe state of the children's oral health was good; the mean of the decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) was 0.68 (Standard deviation = 1.70). Most of the children presented a mean index of oral hygiene (IOHS = 1.51, Standard deviation = 0.48). The parents' attitudes related to oral health were not very good. Many of them did not floss their children's teeth; the bottle-fed children did not brush after feeding. The consumption of sugar was associated with the presence of dental plaque in the children (p=0.05). Nevertheless, in most cases, tooth brushing was performed by the parents and was associated with a good dmft index in the children (p=0.04).ConclusionThe state of children's oral health in the present study was good. However, the parents' attitudes in relation to oral health were not good.