Parental Oral Health Literacy of children with severe early childhood caries in Hong Kong.

AIM To assess the parental oral health literacy of children with severe early childhood caries. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 315 children diagnosed with severe early childhood caries, and their parents were recruited to participate in the study. A clinical examination was conducted to assess the children's oral health status. Their parents were asked to complete a Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Paediatric Dentistry (HKOHLAT-P) questionnaire. RESULTS There were 311 complete responses (98.7% response rate). The mean age of children was 4.7 years (standard deviation (SD) =0.8). The mean decayed, missing filled teeth (dmft) score was 10.2 (SD = 4.5). Most of the children had unfilled dental caries (98.7%). About 72.7% of the parents had an education level of up to secondary school. More than half (61.7%) had a monthly family income of below HKD 20,000. Parents with a lower education level and income had a significantly lower HKOHLAT-P score (p<0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that a higher family income (p<0.05) and education level (p<0.05) predicted higher HKOHLAT-P scores. CONCLUSION The parental oral health literacy of children with severe early childhood caries was associated with their socio-economic background. Oral health education should be targeted towards the lower socio-economic groups.