ABSTRACT
Introduction Dental caries is a worldwide disease affecting children and older populations. There are multiple interventions to treat dental caries that could be sometimes hard to deliver, due to the general status of patients such as insufficient cooperation or medically compromising conditions. Therefore, another alternative to control dental caries is being used and has been recently introduced and approved by the Saudi FDA which is silver diamine fluoride (SDF). Objectives This study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about the use of SDF among dentists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using pretested, an online digitally designed questionnaire sent to 500 Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) registered dentists working in the following specialties: general practitioners, interns, restorative, family, pediatric, and public health dentists who are working in public and private hospitals and clinics. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the comparison of participants' knowledge and Practice with three variables (participants' specialty, place of work, and years of experience), while Chi-square was used for the comparison of respondent's attitudes about the use of SDF and the above same variables. Result A total of 265 responses were received (response rate is 53%). The majority of the respondents were general practitioners and interns 144 (54.3%). Over 50% of dentists believed that they were very informed about SDF. The mean score of knowledge and practices of SDF of participants was found below average 49.13 (19.81) and 43 (26.12), respectively. Correlation of the mean score knowledge and practicing SDF with the type of specialty showed that pediatric dentists had statically significant (P<0.05) higher mean of knowledge 66.94 (SD=17.64) and practicing of SDF 61.93 (22.12) as compared to other specialties, while no statistically significant differences were found among the groups in the overall knowledge and practices based on years of experience and workplace. Attitudes were correlated with the three above variables (specialty, years of experience, and place of work) and showed that pediatric dentists had the highest satisfaction with the results of SDF (85.3%) and were more willing to recommend using it to others (91.2%) as compared to the other groups(P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were found with respect to the later variables. Conclusion The findings of this study showed that irrespective of the positive attitude of participants towards SDF, pediatric dentists were found to have higher knowledge and use SDF more than other dentists in different specialties. Furthermore, they showed higher satisfaction with its use. Years of experience and workplace had no effect on the level of knowledge or practice among participants.
ABSTRACT
Objective The purpose of the study is to correlate the parenting styles of parents with the oral health of their children, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Study design Two hundred and eighty healthy preschool children, who have never been to the dentist, were recruited. Parenting style was determined by the Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and simplified debris index (DI-S) were used for the diagnosis of dental caries and oral hygiene of the children respectively. Results Two parenting styles were identified among Saudi parents; authoritative (94%, n = 265) and permissive (6%, n = 17). The majority of children were brushing by themselves (n = 130, 46.1%) and once per day (n = 163, 57.8%). Significant correlations were detected between parenting style and children's brushing times (P-value of 0.016) and the number of meals consumed by children (P-value of 0.031). The age of the child and oral hygiene score were significantly correlated to dental caries (P-value < 0.05). Conclusion Two parenting styles were identified among Saudi parents. Parenting style influenced the child's oral health but not significantly. Early childhood caries and fair to poor oral hygiene were commonly detected among children. Clinically interesting correlations were identified regarding factors affecting the child's oral health status.
