Factors associated with parental awareness of dental caries in preschool children in Shiraz, Iran, in 2014

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Parents have an important role in making decisions about their children's oral health problems and their awareness of children’s oral health status may affect their care-seeking behaviors. The aims of this study were to determine parental awareness about the presence and absence of dental caries in preschool children and factors associated with their awareness. METHODS: The participants of this cross-sectional study were 3 to 6-year-old children and their parents who were recruited from 10 randomly selected kindergartens in Shiraz, Iran. Normative and perceived caries status of the children was assessed through a dental examination and parental assessment, respectively. Parents' awareness was determined by comparing their perception of presence and absence of caries (perceived status) and the actual caries status of their child (normative status). Factors associated with parental awareness were determined using univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Among the 396 parents, who completed the questionnaire, 56% were aware of presence and 76% were aware of absence of caries. Awareness of presence was associated with children’s previous dental visit (P < 0.001) and experience of caries (P = 0.007). Parents who considered their child’s teeth unclean (P = 0.005) and their overall oral health status not good (P < 0.001) were more likely to be aware of presence of caries. Parents who perceived their child’s teeth clean (P = 0.030) and overall oral health status good (P < 0.001) were more likely to be aware of absence of caries. CONCLUSION: Many parents were not aware of the presence of dental caries, which may result in them deferring the seeking of care for their children. Having a dental visit increased parental awareness. Regular dental visits, therefore, should be promoted for young children for early detection of dental caries and to enhance parental awareness of children’s oral health condition. KEYWORDS: Parents; Awareness; Dental Caries; Childre

A comparison of photographic, replication and direct clinical examination methods for detecting developmental defects of enamel

Different methods have been used for detecting developmental defects of enamel (DDE). This study aimed to compare photographic and replication methods with the direct clinical examination method for detecting DDE in children's permanent incisors

Distinguishing between enamel fluorosis and other enamel defects in permanent teeth of children

Background. The inconsistent prevalence of fluorosis for a given level of fluoride in drinking water suggests developmental defects of enamel (DDEs) other than fluorosis were being misdiagnosed as fluorosis. The imprecise definition and subjective perception of fluorosis indices could result in misdiagnosis of dental fluorosis. This study was conducted to distinguish genuine fluorosis from fluorosis-resembling defects that could have adverse health-related events as a cause using Early Childhood Events Life-grid method (ECEL). Methods. A study was conducted on 400 9-year-old children from areas with high, optimal and low levels of fluoride in the drinking water of Fars province, Iran. Fluorosis cases were diagnosed on the standardized one view photographs of the anterior teeth using Dean’s and TF (Thylstrup and Fejerskov) Indices by calibrated dentists. Agreements between examiners were tested. Early childhood health-related data collected retrospectively by ECEL method were matched with the position of enamel defects. Results. Using both Dean and TF indices three out of four dentists diagnosed that 31.3% (115) children had fluorosis, 58.0%, 29.1%, and 10.0% in high (2.12–2.85 ppm), optimal (0.62–1.22 ppm), and low (0.24–0.29 ppm) fluoride areas respectively (p < 0.001). After matching health-related events in the 115 (31.3%) of children diagnosed with fluorosis, 31 (8.4%) of children had fluorosis which could be matched with their adverse health-related events. This suggests that what was diagnosed as fluorosis were non-fluoride related DDEs that resemble fluorosis. Discussion. The frequently used measures of fluorosis appear to overscore fluorosis. Use of ECEL method to consider health related events relevant to DDEs could help to differentiate between genuine fluorosis and fluorosis-resembling defects

Factors associated with parental awareness of dental caries in preschool children in Shiraz, Iran, in 2014

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Parents have an important role in making decisions about their children's oral health problems and their awareness of children’s oral health status may affect their care-seeking behaviors. The aims of this study were to determine parental awareness about the presence and absence of dental caries in preschool children and factors associated with their awareness. METHODS: The participants of this cross-sectional study were 3 to 6-year-old children and their parents who were recruited from 10 randomly selected kindergartens in Shiraz, Iran. Normative and perceived caries status of the children was assessed through a dental examination and parental assessment, respectively. Parents' awareness was determined by comparing their perception of presence and absence of caries (perceived status) and the actual caries status of their child (normative status). Factors associated with parental awareness were determined using univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Among the 396 parents, who completed the questionnaire, 56% were aware of presence and 76% were aware of absence of caries. Awareness of presence was associated with children’s previous dental visit (P < 0.001) and experience of caries (P = 0.007). Parents who considered their child’s teeth unclean (P = 0.005) and their overall oral health status not good (P < 0.001) were more likely to be aware of presence of caries. Parents who perceived their child’s teeth clean (P = 0.030) and overall oral health status good (P < 0.001) were more likely to be aware of absence of caries. CONCLUSION: Many parents were not aware of the presence of dental caries, which may result in them deferring the seeking of care for their children. Having a dental visit increased parental awareness. Regular dental visits, therefore, should be promoted for young children for early detection of dental caries and to enhance parental awareness of children’s oral health condition