Understanding Parents' Oral Health Behaviors for Their Young Children

Abstract

Young children with extensive dental decay often require a general anesthetic (GA) to enable dental treatment. The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory to help our understanding of the processes that influence parental adoption of dentally healthy behaviors following the experience of their child's "dental general anesthetic." Twenty six interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed and a conceptual model was generated. Overall, the dental GA experience had an immediate, but short-lived, impact on parental behavior change. Parents had difficulty over time maintaining these behaviors. Social influences, family context, and parenting strategies were the key categories that influenced parental behavior change; however, parenting strategies occupied the central position in the model. Cultural beliefs, actions of dental professionals, and media/advertising were some of the identified barriers to behavior change. Those parents who were more confident in their ability to successfully carry out dentally healthy practices were more likely to maintain them over time.

Association between parental guilt and oral health problems in preschool children

“…In addition, some parents believe that dental caries is a common/normal occurrence in children and that it is somehow inevitable. 24 This misconception could explain the large number of parents who answered "never feeling guilty".…”

“…11 This phenomenon can be speculated because the main causes of dental caries are widely broadcast by many oral health professionals. 24 Therefore, if parents know how to prevent oral problems, it is reasonable to believe that their lack of preventive measures has led to their feelings of guilt.…”

“…However, the present results show that parents are considerably more concerned about their children's oral health. 27 Parental knowledge, attitudes and the family's socioeconomic condition have a direct influence on children's oral health; 24,28 thus, it would be interesting to perform studies to discover the reasons for why parents feel guilty. Moreover, future studies should consider whether parents who feel guilty about their children's carious lesions could be motivated to change their behaviour towards better and healthier habits.…”

Early Childhood Caries: A Literature Review

“…Ailesel faktörler arasında; ebeveynlerin inanç sistemleri ve tutumları, çocuğun mizacı (örneğin; diş fırçalamaya direnç göstermesi), ebeveyn okur yazarlığının az olması ve mevcut eği-tim materyallerini eksik anlaması, optimal ağız sağlığı ve koruyucu yöntemler hakkında ebeveynlerin yetersiz bilgisi, ağız bakımını öncelikli hâle getirmeyi zorlaştıran maddi zorluklar, dental anksiyete ve korkular, düşük maliyetli dental bakıma ulaşım zorluğu diğer sorumluluklarla kıyas-landığında, evdeki ağız bakım aktivitelerinin zaman alıcı ve düşük öncelikli kabul edilmesi yer almaktadır. [91][92][93][94] Çevresel faktörler ise sağlık sigortasının olmayışı, ebeveynin çalışma saatleri ya da diğer sorumluluklarıyla çakışmayacak diş randevusu zamanı ayarlayamama/uygun olmayan klinik çalışma saatleri, ebeveynlerin çocukların okulda devamsızlık yapmasını istememesi, dental hizmetin olduğu bölgelere ulaşım araçlarının eksikliği ve coğrafi problemler, sağlık hizmetlerinin hastaları yönlendirme konusunda karmaşık olması ve sosyo-ekonomik ve kültürel ayrımcılık şeklinde sıralanabilmektedir. 95 Diş çürükleri açısından yüksek risk grubunda olan pek çok aile, dental bakıma ulaşma konusu kadar, tedavi planına ya da evde bakım önerilerine itaat etme konusunda da zorluklar yaşamaktadır.…”

Perfil de salud bucal de niños que concurrieron a Servicios Odontológicos Universitarios en Porto Alegre (Brasil) y Córdoba (Argentina)

“…Several studies agree that the mother is the child's primary source of infection through cariogenic bacteria (8)(9)(10) . Among the many factors that affect oral health in early childhood, the relevance of mother (caregiver) to child transmission and S. mutans genetic similarity have been shown (11) , as well as their correlation to knowledge, attitudes and socioeconomic status (12) . In addition, children with a record of caries in early childhood are more prone to future decay of their permanent teeth (13) .…”