Parents’ involvement in children oral hygiene

Abstract

Parents play an important role in children’ oral health by being decisional agents for hygiene habits in the first years. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the children oral hygiene habits with parents' contribution. Material and methods: The study was conducted on 105 parents who were assessed using a self-administered on-line questionnaire. Results: Tooth-brushing twice daily is performed in 88.88% of cases in “under 2 years” age group by parents, and in half of the rest of cases. Fluoridated toothpaste is used by low number of children and around one quarter of parents are not aware whether their child’ toothpaste contains fluoride. Recommended quantity of toothpaste is used by only 22.22% for children under 2 years, 52.38% for 2-6 yrs, 27.08% for 6-12 yrs. Conclusions: Oral hygiene habits are less than optimal. Parents' oral health education needs improvement in order to gain the recommended behaviors for children.