Parental Oral Health Literacy and Dental Status of Children Living in Arkhangelsk

Abstract

The aim of this research was to assess oral health literacy (OHL) among parents living in Arkhangelsk (Russia) and to study its correlation with children’s oral health. Materials and methods. We examined 125 children aged 3–14 years during their visit to the dental clinic of Northern State Medical University. Parental OHL was studied with the help of a self-administered questionnaire. Caries prevalence was assessed, depending on age, using the decay-filled (df) index for primary dentition, decay-missing-filled (DMF) index for permanent dentition, and df + DMF index. Oral hygiene was studied using the simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S). Correlation analysis with Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to establish the relationship between the parameters under study. Results. The majority of parents (53.6 %) demonstrated low or very low OHL levels, mean score being 12.2 points out of 30. Caries prevalence among children was 97.6 %, mean df, df + DMF and DMF values were 7.3, 7.6 and 7.8, respectively. The majority of children had decompensated (44.0 %) or subcompensated (38.4 %) forms of caries (classification by T.F. Vinogradova). Mean OHI-S was 1.8 (poor level of oral hygiene). An inverse correlation between parental OHL and caries experience in children was identified (r = −0.178; p = 0.047). Lower parental OHL was statistically significantly associated with more dental plaque in children (r = −0.307; p < 0.001); higher OHI-S was associated with greater levels of caries experience (r = 0.494; p < 0.001). The findings provide an evidence base for promoting health and hygiene literacy among parents in order to preserve oral health and prevent caries in children.