The Role of Mother's Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices in Dental Caries on Vulnerably Preschool Children

Abstract Objective: To analyze the association between Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and mother´s knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study included a random sample of 163 preschool children aged 3-4 old in southern Brazil. The severity of dental caries and ECC was assessed by ICDAS criteria, while mothers completed the semi-structured questionnaire (KAP-ECC). Maternal behavior characteristics and answered questions about socioeconomic and demographic variables. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association of exploratory variables with ECC. For this approach, we calculated the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% IC). Results: Dental examinations revealed that 91.4% of children presented ECC (ICDAS = 3, 4, 5 or 6). Among those children, 31.9% presented cavities (ICDAS ≥ 3). Family income was significantly associated with the presence of ECC (OR 2.17; 95% CI: 1.41-3.36). Regarding KAP-ECC, mothers have knowledge related to ECC etiology, reported dental hygiene attitudes and practices that can prevent ECC but reported less healthy attitudes and practices regarding child's diet, specifically with respect to bottle and breastfeeding habits (OR 0.52; 95% CI: 0.33-0.81). Conclusion: ECC was more frequent in children from low-income families and whose mothers reported the belief that milk with chocolate does not contribute to caries and that disagreed that it is normal that a 2-year-old baby wakes up during the night to suckle. That is, good knowledge toward health habits may impact on lower occurrence of ECC; however, this condition also depends on the socioeconomic level.

Impact of Early Childhood Caries and Maternal Behaviors on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Children

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the impact of early childhood caries, maternal behaviors and associated factors on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of preschool children. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 163 preschool children aged 3-4 old from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. Mothers completed the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) and answered questions about sociodemographic and maternal behaviors characteristics. The severity of dental caries was assessed by ICDAS criteria for evaluated early childhood caries (ECC). A Poisson regression model was used to investigate the association of ECC and associated factors on OHRQoL. Results: A total of 91.4% of preschooler children was ECC (ICDAS ≥ 1). Mean ECOHIS function domain and parental anxiety domain scores were significantly higher in children with dental caries (p<0.05). The adjusted Poisson regression model showed that household income, maternal education, mother's job status and breastfeeding time was significantly associated with ECOHIS scores. Regarding oral conditions, child caries experience was associated with worsening child and family quality of life (RR 2.21; 95% IC: 1.43-3.41). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that ECC, socioeconomic and maternal behaviors characteristics influence children's OHRQoL.