The relation between mothers' attitude toward dentistry and the oral status of their children.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the effect of maternal attitude toward dentistry on the dental status of the mothers and of their children. The study population was 65 mothers and 173 children from six kindergarten classes in a middle class community in Israel. The data recorded included caries prevalence (DMFT/S -deft/s), oral hygiene (OHI), and gingival health (GI). Each mother answered a questionnaire that included components dealing with attitude regarding herself and her attitude regarding her child. The findings indicated that the more positive a mother’s attitude regarding herself, the lower her caries rate. The more positive a mother’s attitude regarding her child, the less caries the child had, the better the child’s oral hygiene, and the more dental treatment the child received. Attitude has been defined as consistency in the form of reaction to social demands; it is expected to create preparation and guidance to the manifest behavior of the individual.1 Triandis, 2 and Kerman and Trebbi 3 described attitude as having three major components: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral, each contributing to the formation of the attitude. Other investigators reported that attitude does not always correspond to expected behavior. They have suggested additional components which might play a role such as one’s moral standards, habits, social expectations, and social pressures. 4"s Rayant6 was unable to find any correlation between his patients’ gingival health and answers to a questionnaire which examined their attitude toward dental care. However, Friedman et al. 7 found less caries in children whose parents had a better attitude toward dentistry. Similarly, Eijkman et al. s showed that the better the mother’s attitude the less plaque her child had. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether there are correlations between mothers’ atAmiram Raviv, PhD titude toward dental health care, their own dental status, and the dental status of their children. Two hypotheses were tested: Hypothesis A. The more positive a mother’s attitude is, the better will be her dental status; i.e., less caries, better oral hygiene, and better gingival health. Hypothesis B. The more positive the mother’s attitude is toward dental health the better will be her child’s dental status. Methods and Materials One hundred seventy-three children, five to six years of age from six kindergarten classes in a middle class suburban community in Israel were examined. Eightyfive boys, 88 girls, and 65 mothers took part in the study. The children were examined in a school clinic, using a dental light, mirror, and probe. They were notified of the visit a few days earlier and came to the clinic with their teachers. The following data were recorded on a special examination chart: caries prevalence (deft/s), oral hygiene index, 9 and gingival index (GI). 9 The study’s nature and relevance were explained to the mothers at a meeting in their child’s classroom. A few days after the examination of the children, the mothers were invited to the dental clinic for an examination of their own teeth. Appointments were set at the convenience of those who could not come on the day of the meeting. Every effort was made to encourage and facilitate the participation of the mothers. Just before the dental examination every mother was asked to answer a questionnaire reflecting her attitude toward dentistry (Figure 1). The questions were divided into four categories: K-1 Mother’s understanding and feelings regarding her own dental needs (questions 14, 18-21) K-2 Mother’s understanding and feelings regarding her child’s dental needs (questions 7,. 17, 22-24) 128 MOTHER’S DENTAL A~FITUDE/CHILD’S ORAL STATUS: Sarnat et al. Figure 1. Mother’s attitude towards dentistry questionnaire. Name Kindergarten Date __