Mother's knowledge about fluoride therapy and fissure sealants

Increased dental caries and dental lesions have made preventive measures, especially among children, inevitable. This study investigated elementary schoolgirls’ mothers’ level of knowledge on preventive methods against dental caries. In this cross-sectional study, mothers of 250 schoolgirls were randomly selected from five regions of Tehran, Iran. Their knowledge about fissure sealant therapy and fluoride therapy was evaluated using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed by analysis of variance and independent t-tests in SPSS. Mothers’ knowledge about fissure sealant therapy was lower than fluoride therapy. Very low, low, and moderate levels of knowledge were detected among nearly a quarter, 47.5%, and 22.6% of the participants, respectively. Only 5.4% of the subjects had acceptable level of knowledge on preventive dentistry methods. There were significant correlations between mothers'' level of knowledge and their education level and occupational status. Educated mothers and working mothers had greater knowledge than did housewives. Dentists have a crucial role in increasing mothers'' knowledge.