Assessing the knowledge and attitudes of group of mothers living in Saudi Arabia with regards to their children’s oral health

BackgroundThe knowledge of mothers with respect to health can affect their children’s health either directly by promoting health practices or indirectly by influencing the health-related attitudes and behaviours of children.AimsThe aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of a group of mothers living in Saudi Arabia with regard to their children’s oral health.Methods This cross-sectional study involved 614 mothers living across Saudi Arabia. An electronic web-based questionnaire was developed and distributed among the participants using different social media outlets.Results Almost 80 per cent of study participants were knowledgeable regarding their child’s primary and permanent teeth’s eruption time and agreed that their child’s primary teeth were as important as the permanent teeth. The results also indicated that 79 per cent of the participants were aware that bottle feeding during sleep causes tooth decay and 73.7 per cent knew that the frequency of sugar consumption has a greater impact on oral health than the quantity of sugar consumed. Almost all participants (97 per cent) reported that they watch and help their children to brush their teeth. More than half (55.8 per cent) of them reported that they take their children for their first dental check-up when the children are one-year old, and almost three-quarters (73 per cent) reported they take their children to regular dental check-ups.ConclusionMost mothers had a positive attitude toward their children’s oral health and were reasonably knowledgeable about it; however, further health education is required among some groups and in some aspects particularly those concerning oral and systemic health