Parental perceptions of their preschool-aged children's oral health

Parents have an important role in making decisions about their children's oral health. The purpose of the authors' study was to determine parental perceptions of their children's oral health status and factors correlated with these perceptions of health. The authors analyzed data for...

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Published inThe Journal of the American Dental Association (1939) Vol. 136; no. 3; p. 364
Main Authors Talekar, Bhavna S, Rozier, R Gary, Slade, Gary D, Ennett, Susan T
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.03.2005
Subjects
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Data Collection
Dental Care - psychology
Dental Caries - psychology
Female
Health Status
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Oral Health
Parents - psychology
Perception
Social Class
Socioeconomic Factors
United States
United States
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Summary:Parents have an important role in making decisions about their children's oral health. The purpose of the authors' study was to determine parental perceptions of their children's oral health status and factors correlated with these perceptions of health. The authors analyzed data for 3,424 children (2-5 years of age) from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They based the dependent variable on a question asked of primary caregivers: "How would you describe the condition of [child's name]'s natural teeth?" Explanatory variables included demographic variables, dental visits, perception of child's general health, need for dental care and presence of tooth caries. Eighty-nine percent of parents rated their child's oral health as excellent, very good or good, and 11 percent rated it as fair or poor (mean = 2.7 on a five-point scale, with 1 being excellent and 5 being poor). Tooth caries, perceived need for dental cleaning and treatment, lower income and poorer general health perceptions were associated with poorer parental ratings. Actual disease and perceived need are associated significantly with parents' perceptions of their children's oral health. Understanding parents' perceptions of their children's oral health and factors that motivate these perceptions can help dentistry overcome barriers that parents encounter in accessing dental care for their children.
ISSN:0002-8177
DOI:10.14219/jada.archive.2005.0179