Maternal knowledge and awareness of factors affecting oral health in the paediatric population.
OBJECTIVE
To assess expectant mothers on their knowledge and awareness of factors affecting paediatric oral health.


METHODS
Seven hundred and six women in different stages of pregnancy were recruited from the antenatal clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital over a period of four weeks. A self-administered structured questionnaire on socio-demographic information, oral health knowledge and oral health behaviour was filled by the participants. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 17.


RESULTS
The mean age of the subjects was 29.6 (SD + 4.4) years. Seventy percent of them had tertiary education and 63.9% were unemployed. A significant proportion (83.4%) of the women had medium to high score (> 50%) in the knowledge of causal and preventive factors in dental caries and gingivitis. Over seventy nine percent (79.2%) of them acknowledged that primary teeth are important, but 43.6% did not know whether primary teeth should be restored or not. Only 39.3% of the women knew that leaving a feeding bottle/breast in the mouth of a sleeping child could be harmful to the teeth. Knowledge of the role of bacteria in gingivitis (81.3%) and dental caries (86.6%) was high. Over 45% of participants agreed that mothers could transmit cariogenic bacteria to their children. Only 0.7% of the women had taken their children to the dental clinic for routine checkup.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the participants had medium to high knowledge of the factors that affect paediatric oral health, yet the participants did not demonstrate adequate and proper concomitant oral health practice.
Dpt of Child Dental Health, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
J O
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Eigbobo
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Onyeaso
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D005248:Feeding Methods; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D011247:Pregnancy; D012890:Sleep; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000502:physiology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000502:physiology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
D019422:Dietary Sucrose