Knowledge and attitude of Saudi mothers towards their preschool children’s oral health

OBJECTIVES To determine knowledge and attitude of Saudi mothers towards their preschool children's oral health. METHODS One hundred and one mothers (of children aged 16 to 40 months) attending well-baby clinics at Security Forces Hospital Polyclinics in Makkah Al-Mukarrama participated in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the required information. RESULTS A great majority (92.1%) of the mothers agreed that "baby teeth are important for child's general health. Similarly, 90.1% of the mothers agreed that "using fluoridated toothpaste helps to prevent tooth decay". About four in every ten mothers (43.6%) agreed that a child should be allowed to use a bottle at-will when he/she becomes able to hold it. More than half of the mothers (54.5%) agreed that letting baby sleep with bottle still in the mouth was of no harm to teeth. A significantly (p=0.04) higher percentage of high Socioeconomic status (SES) mothers as compared to middle SES mothers (85.9% versus 55.6%) agreed that "frequent feeding with milk or milk formula is of no harm to baby's teeth". A significantly (p=003) higher percentage of the middle SES mothers as compared to high SES mothers (66.7% versus 17.4%) agreed that a child should only visit a dentist in case of a dental pain/problem. CONCLUSIONS The mothers need to be educated in several important areas related to feeding, diet and first dental check-up visit of their children.