Evaluation of parents’ knowledge, attitude and practice regarding: primary teeth care in 6-12 years old children referred to Alborz dental school in 2021

Preserving deciduous teeth is necessary to have regular permanent teeth and parents play an important role in this field. In this study, the knowledge, attitude and practice of parents of children aged 6 to 12 years about caring for primary teeth were assessed.

In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study, 148 parents of children aged 6 to 12 years referred to Alborz Dental School in 2020 participated. Their knowledge, attitude and practice were measured using a questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.

: More than 81% of the participants were mothers. Most families had one child and the highest level of education of parents was diploma More than 83% of mothers were housewives, more than 87% of fathers were employed and 84. 5% of parents were married. In parents, the level of knowledge was poor, the level of attitude was good and the level of performance was poor. The level of knowledge had a significant relationship with the employment status of mothers (p=0. 028). Attitude level had a significant relationship with mothers' education (p=0. 023). Performance level had a significant relationship with father's education (p=0. 039), mother's education (p<0. 01), mother's employment status (p= 0. 005) and father's employment status (p=0. 013). Working mothers and fathers had higher performance levels than housewives and unemployed fathers.

It seems necessary to take measures to educate parents about taking care of milk teeth of children aged 6 to 12 years.