Evaluation of parents’ knowledge and practice of 3-9 years old children referring to Ahvaz dental school regarding the importance of maintaining primary teeth

Background and Aims: Considering the role of primary teeth in children's dental health and the importance of parental role on children dental health the purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of parents of 3-9 year-old children regarding to maintaining primary teeth. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on the parents referring to Ahwaz dental school in 2017. Using a questionnaire, the participants' demographic characteristics, knowledge and performance regarding maintaining of the primary molars were collected. The percentage of correct responses was considered as the level of knowledge and performance. Analysis of K-square and Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test were employed to determine the relationship between the participants' knowledge and performance and their demographic variables. The significance level was P<0.05. Results: 176 parents completed the questionnaire. The mean parental knowledge score was 57.42±7.45 (range 15-75), and the mean practice score was, 9.42±1.86 (range 4-12). No relationship was found between the parents’ age, sex, knowledge, and performance. The knowledge of parents who had a history of referral to the dentist, fewer children (rs=0.428), higher education (rs=0.490) and higher income (r=0.226) was significantly better (P<0.001). Also practice increases with higher awareness of parents (r=0.549) (P<0.001). The parents’ practice was significantly related to the history of referral to the dentist, and having fewer children (rs=0.320), higher education (rs=0.369), and higher income (r=0.253) (P<0.01). Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the knowledge and practice of the parents about primary teeth were moderate. Regarding the important role of primary teeth in children's health, increasing the parents’ knowledge on the maintenance of primary teeth is essential.