title: Parental attitudes regarding pediatric dentists' counseling on tobacco use: a survey of five private practices.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate parental acceptance of provision of tobacco cessation and prevention education to children and parents by private practice pediatric dentists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Receptionists gave confidential questionnaires to parents of child dental patients in five private pediatric dentistry practices. Demographic information and questions about dentist interventions were asked, with the most intrusive questions concerning parental tobacco use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-four percent (234) of parents responded. Over 90 percent of parents favored dentists speaking to 1) the child on the dangers of tobacco use and the benefits of avoiding tobacco, 2) parents about the effects of tobacco use on their children, and 3) parents about cessation. Among tobacco-using parents, 76 percent favored interventions directed at child tobacco use and warnings about adult smoking and children, dropping to 59 percent favoring dentist provisions of cessation education to parents. Users were less approving than nonusers on both parental interventions (P=.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents showed high acceptance of various levels of tobacco interventions by pediatric dentists in private practice. Tobacco users, however, were less accepting than nonusers. Pediatric dentists may be more willing to provide such messages with this information, but they may also need training to prepare themselves to handle negative reactions.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric dentist in private practice, Seattle, Wash, USA.
authors.forename: Bo M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.affiliation: College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA. rodney@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Rodney Joseph
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Vergotine
authors.affiliation: College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA.
authors.forename: Indru C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Punwani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, at the College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koerber
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, at the College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill., USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crawford
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003376:Counseling; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry; D011331:Private Practice; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D020340:Tobacco Use Cessation / Q000523:psychology