Document Type : Original Article
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Abstract
Introduction: The knowledge of parents affects their children's general wellbeing as well as oral health. The present study aimed to assess the mothers' knowledge of time and sequence of deciduous and permanent teeth eruption in children.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the mothers referring to four health centers in Shiraz, Iran. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect information about the participants' demographic characteristics and their knowledge about tooth eruption, including the time and sequence of teeth eruption, number of permanent and deciduous teeth, and oral care. The percentage of correct responses was considered as the level of knowledge. Analysis of Variance and Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient were employed to determine the relationship between the participants' knowledge and their demographic variables. Besides, the significance level was set at P Results: A total of 200 mothers aging 23-49 years (31.5±4.4) completed the questionnaires. The mean of correct responses was 47.8±16.3% for all the mothers. The results revealed no significant correlation between the mothers' age and their specific and overall knowledge (P>0.05). However, the overall knowledge showed a significant correlation with the level of education (r=0.42; P<0.0001) and number of children (r=- 0.18; P=0.010).
Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, the knowledge regarding the pattern of teeth eruption in children was higher among the mothers with higher education levels and smaller number of children. Thus, regular oral health education is necessary for mothers, particularly those with a low level of education.
Keywords: Knowledge, Tooth eruption, Deciduous teeth, Oral health
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