Dental caries knowledge and perceptions among mothers attending reproductive and child health clinics, Kinondoni, Tanzania

Aim: To assess the knowledge and perceptions on dental caries among mothers attending the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Clinics in Kinondoni Municipality. Study design: cross-sectional. Subjects and methods: Three hundred eighty five mothers who attended three RCH clinics in Kinondoni Municipality in August 2005 filled questionnaires on knowledge and perceptions on dental caries. Using SPSS version 10, differences in knowledge and perceptions between mothers of different education levels were tested by chi-square statistics at significant level of 0.05. Results: The proportion of mothers who knew the detrimental effects of comforters, sugary snacks, and prolonged use of medicinal syrups on children dental health were 84%, 77.4%, and 57.4% respectively. Less than a third of mothers knew that breast/bottle-feeding all time and children sleeping with breast nipple could cause dental caries in children. Seventy eight percent knew that tooth brushing twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste prevent dental caries. Majority of mothers either disagreed or were not sure that breast/bottle feeding at will or sleeping with breast nipple, and prolonged use of medicinal syrups could cause dental caries in children. Conclusion: Majority of mothers knew the detrimental effects of comforters, sugary snacks, and prolonged use of medicinal syrups on children dental health, and the beneficial effects of supervised tooth brushing twice a day using fluoridated toothpaste in preventing dental caries in children. Few knew that breast/bottle feeding at will and or children sleeping with breast nipple could cause dental caries in children. Keywords: dental caries, knowledge, perceptions, childbearing mothers Tanzania Dental Journal Vol. 13(1) 2006: 13-1