Survey on the oral health knowledge,behavior and attitudes among parents of preschool children

Objective:To conduct a survey among the parents of preschool children on the knowledge,behavior and attitudes towards oral health for providing the evidence with oral hygiene education on children basis.Methods:By cluster sampling method,1 120 parents of 4-to 6-year-old preschool children from 9 kindergartens underwent the questionnaire response with regard to the oral health care knowledge,behavior and attitudes.Results:Totally,69.08% of the parents surveyed had the knowledge on oral health care,but appeared poor in awareness of "tooth brushing should exceed 3min each time(42.95%),necessity of brushing both occlusal surfaces of the teeth(46.96%) and recommendation of fluoride-containing toothpaste(31.34%)". On the oral health care behavior in children,only 22.59% of the parents reported using dental floss to clean the teeth,79.20% were aware of the inadvisability to have snacks before bed time and 72.32% said that carbonated beverage drink were unfavorable to children. Parents of the preschool children in general had positive attitudes towards oral health care,and yet,the respondents seemed inferior in understanding the importance of improving the dental health by intake of some complemented food,mere 49.82% responded correctly.Conclusion:The parents of the preschool children appear relatively poor in knowledge of oral health hygiene and are urged to spread the knowledge among them for changing their attitudes towards oral health care.