Evaluation of information on dental health care at child health centers. Factors in caries prevention--opinions of dental personnel and their relation to parental attitudes.
Our aim was to study, by means of questionnaires, some specific opinions of dental personnel, giving information on dental health care at child health centers and Public Dental Service clinics. The questions dealt with the relative importance of dietary habits, oral hygiene, and fluoride for the occurrence of caries in small children and why some children develop caries. The material consisted of dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants, participating in 1983 and/or 1992. The results showed that, on the whole, the different categories had similar opinions. In both 1983 and 1992 diet was ranked first, oral hygiene second, and fluoride third, but the distribution of priorities changed. In 1992 the priority values for oral hygiene were more dispersed over the priority grades and those for fluoride considerably higher than in 1983. In contrast, parents of 4-year-old children interviewed in 1983 stated that toothbrushing is more important for dental health than diet. To the question why some children develop caries, most of the personnel responded that parents lack motivation to convert advice into practice. Besides unsatisfactory dietary habits and insufficient oral hygiene, deficiencies in the information process were other frequently quoted factors.
Kinnby
C G
CG
Department of Pedodontics, Lund University, School of Dentistry, Malmö, Sweden.
Widenheim
J
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003726:Dental Assistants; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003756:Dental Hygienists; D003815:Dentists; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010290:Parents; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011636:Public Health Dentistry
D005459:Fluorides