The impact of parental dental anxiety and oral health literacy on child oral health and dental-visit patterns: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: BMC oral health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 853 - 9
• Main Authors: Gudipaneni, Ravi Kumar, Alzabni, Khalid Maziad D, Alrashedi, Faisal Fraih A, Alruwaili, Dimah Hamoud J, Albalawi, Farah Awad, Alanazi, Asrar Helal, Alshamri, Buthainah Saleh, Almaeen, Saud Hamdan, Manchery, Nithin, Bawazir, Omar A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 27.07.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Anxiety; Bilingualism; Care and treatment; Caregivers; Child; Children; Children & youth; Complications and side effects; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Dental anxiety; Dental Anxiety - psychology; Dental Care for Children; Dental Caries; Dental insurance; Dentistry; Diagnosis; DMF Index; Families & family life; Family income; Female; Gender; Health aspects; Health education; Health Literacy; Humans; Low income groups; Male; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Oral-health literacy; Parent educational background; Parenting; Parents & parenting; Parents - psychology; Pattern of child dental visits; Pediatrics; Preschool education; Psychological aspects; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Sample size; Saudi Arabia; Self report; Self-reported oral health; Socio behavioural characteristics; Statistical analysis; Statistical sampling; Teeth; Saudi Arabia; Oral-health literacy; Socio behavioural characteristics; Dental caries; Dental anxiety; Self-reported oral health; Pattern of child dental visits
• ISSN: 1472-6831; 1472-6831
• DOI: 10.1186/s12903-024-04536-8

Identifying the risk indicators of parental dental anxiety (PDA) and oral health literacy (OHL) can help oral healthcare professionals recognise challenges in this field. Armed with the appropriate information, they can effectively engage with parents to build trust and promote early and regular child dental visits. This study aimed to investigate the association between PDA and OHL with the sociobehavioural characteristics of families, self-reported child oral health (presence of ≥ 1 untreated decayed teeth) and the dental visit patterns amongst children living in Al Jouf Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A total of 430 parents with children aged ≥ 14 years were invited using a systematic random sampling method. PDA was assessed using the Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised (DAS-R) scale, and parents' OHL was measured using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry-30 (REALD-30). The relationships amongst participant characteristics, PDA and OHL were evaluated through the Chi-square and ANOVA. Additionally, binary regression analysis was conducted to identify predictor variables associated with PDA and OHL. A P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Children with ≥ 1 untreated decayed tooth were 2.5 times more likely to have PDA (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.37, 4.37). Children who visited the dentist in < 6 months had 93% lower likelihood to have PDA (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.18). Parents aged 20-25 years were 81% less likely to have OHL than those above 30 years (AOR = 0.19; P = 0.038). Similarly, parents with medium family income were 52% less likely to have OHL than the high-income group (AOR = 0.48; P = 0.013). Finally, parents of children who visited the dentist within < 6 months were 34 times more likely to have OHL than those whose children visited the dentist > 12 months ago (AOR = 34.94; P < 0.001). PDA and OHL were significantly affected by parental age, family income, the presence of ≥ 1 untreated decaying tooth and the child dental visit patterns. During a child's first dental visit, paediatric dentists should always assess the PDA, OHL and sociobehavioural characteristics of a family by using appropriate scales and semistructured interviews.