Awareness of Dental Hygiene among Mothers of Under-Five Children in Chatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Poor oral health in early childhood is one of the most serious and costly health conditions in young children. The main concern is that of decay in the primary dentition. Early childhood caries (ECC), and decayed teeth in children under 6 years of age, is a multifactorial childhood disease with sociocultural and socioeconomic determinants. The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of common dental health problems and knowledge of dental hygiene among under-five children and to assess the knowledge of mothers of underfive children regarding dental hygiene. A quantitative descriptive survey approach was used to collect the data. A sample of 100 mothers of under-five children who were attending dental OPD at CSSH, Meerut, India was selected by using purposive sampling technique and a selfstructured questionnaire was used to collect data regarding demographic profile, prevalence of dental problems among under-five children and knowledge on dental hygiene. It was found that majority of respondents (81%) had moderate knowledge while 13% of the respondents had inadequate knowledge and a very less percentage of the respondents (6%) were having adequate knowledge regarding dental hygiene. About 29% mothers had the history of prevalence of common dental health problems in their children. A significant association of mother’s knowledge was found with demographic variables, i.e., age, number of children, type of family and family income. Overall findings of this study reveals that the knowledge of mothers of under-five children was moderate regarding dental hygiene and it is concluded that there is a need to enhance the knowledge of mothers regarding dental hygiene and common dental problems to prevent the early childhood dental health problems.  

Keywords: Dental hygiene, under-five children, prevalence, knowledge 

Cite this Article Devi TK, Archana, Agarwal A et al. Awareness of Dental Hygiene among Mothers of Under-Five Children in Chatrapati Shivaji Subharti Hospital, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2016; 6(2): 1–5p.