Knowledge and interest of north-central Romanian mothers regarding children oral health prevention - A questionnaire based study

Introduction: The development and eruption of teeth should be followed by the dentist, which is why periodic check ups are required.

Aims of the study: This study aims to evaluate the knowledge of the mothers regarding the dental hygiene of the children and the importance of presenting them in the dental office, as well as the knowledge related to the prevention of dental caries.

Material and Methods: A questionnaire comprising 15 questions was developed and handed to 290 mothers in Tirgu Mures. The questions targeted the knowledge related to the dental hygiene of the child, and decay prevention.

The data obtained were processed electronically. 51.7% of the mothers stated that the visit to the dental office should be done every 6 months, and 58.6% opted for a first contact with the dentist at the age of 3 years. 98.2% of mothers consider dental prevention to be important or very important. 75% consider that the child’s hygiene must be done twice daily, and 89% said that they use the toothbrush in the child’s hygiene process. 68% of the mothers know the term of dental sealing, but only 20% resorted to this method of treatment.

Conclussions: The study demonstrates the urgent need to take the lack of interest and information of parents seriously and to develop programs primarily to inform and raise awareness of the population and then to apply different preventive methods.