Caries Experience and Knowledge About Oral Health Importance Among Children with Congenital Heart Diseases in Kosovo

Abstract Objective: To determine the dental health of children with Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD) and to evaluate the parents' knowledge of the importance of oral health and the risk of Bacterial Endocarditis. Material and Methods: This research included 140 children divided into the study group (80 children with CHD) and the control group (60 healthy children). The children were from different parts of Kosova, aged between 3-15. The parents were asked to complete a questionnaire containing demographic data (age and gender), general and special medical history (CHD types), knowledge about oral health importance and risk of bacterial endocarditis, and data about the daily oral hygiene child. The caries experience was reported using the DMFT/dmft index. Results: The average value of the dmft index was 6.7 for the study group and 5.62 for the control group, while the average value of DMFT index for the study group was 4.1, and for the control group was 3.47 (p>0.05). About 68.7% of parents of children with CHD were informed about their risk during dental interventions. However, knowledge was insufficient about the importance of oral health and dental prophylactic measures once only 32.7% of them were aware of those measures. Conclusion: No difference was observed between healthy and CHD children in caries experience and frequency of daily tooth brushing. Our findings provide evidence of a lack of knowledge about the importance of oral health and dental prophylactic measures among parents with CHD children (AU).

Streptococcus Mutans Infections in Infants and Related Maternal/Child Factors.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the maternal-child S. mutans infection, mutual interaction and potential risk factors altering this interaction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 160 mothers who were paired with their children were recruited. Saliva from mothers and children was collected and S. mutans categorized levels were analyzed. A questionnaire was used to collect maternal and child conventional caries risk factors. A proportional odds regression model was used to investigate whether the level of infection of mothers would similarly affect the level of infection of their children, thus adjusting for other risk factors. RESULTS: The average age of mothers was 28.1 years and children had a median age of 5.1 months. Paired mother-child S. mutans cross-classification into non-infected and infected subjects showed no agreement in mutual contamination. Maternal infection of the child was highest when the mother was infected with 10>3 S. mutans/ml of saliva. The results obtained by the regression model showed that none of the potential risk factors influenced the level of infection in the child. CONCLUSION: Mothers with a high S. mutans level increase the risk of S. mutans acquisition for her five- month- old child but no evidence was found that other maternal/child factors may influence this.

Mothers' behaviours and knowledge related to caries experience of their children.

PURPOSE: Insufficient attention paid by public institutions to primary oral health protection measures has contributed to a poor oral health status in Kosovo, especially in children. Because the oral health promotion activities identified the significant roles of mothers in primary prevention, the aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and the behaviour of mothers in connection with the caries experience of their children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 664 of the mothers who accompanied their children to dental visits were interviewed and data on maternal knowledge and attitudes towards the oral health of preschool children were collected. The children underwent dental examination and the dmft index was recorded. RESULTS: The mean dmft index in all children was 6.30 ± 3.23. A high prevalence of early childhood caries was recorded. The highest mean dmft was recorded for children whose mothers had finished primary and secondary school (6.41 ± 3.36 and 6.62 ± 2.87, respectively). The mothers displayed insufficient knowledge regarding dental visits, feeding, oral hygiene maintenance and the utilisation of fluoride/antimicrobial agents. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that the level of knowledge about oral health among interviewed mothers is very low to nonexistent. Mothers need to be educated and encouraged that they are a key factor in improving the oral health habits of their children. Since caries represents a serious public health problem in Kosovo, an overall preventive programme for oral health promotion is needed, including the oral health education of mothers.