ABSTRACT

Aim: Oral and dental health problems are significant global public health challenges. Maintaining optimal oral health requires the adoption of proper oral hygiene practices, regulating cariogenic food intake, and routine dental check-ups. Parents play a crucial role in enhancing their children’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to oral health, making their involvement critical in promoting healthy behaviors. This study aimed to assess parents’ knowledge of oral health and to evaluate the effectiveness of parental oral health education.

Materials and Methods: This study involved the parents of 227 children, aged 7-13 years, who attended the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Ege University Faculty of Dentistry for routine dental examinations. After ethical approval, a pre-test consisting of 20 questions was administered to the participants in order to assess their baseline knowledge of oral health. Following the completion of the educational session, a post-test with the same questions was administered to all participants. Additionally, the parents were asked to complete a satisfaction survey in order to assess their perception of the educational intervention. The total scores of the pre- and post-tests were assessed based on the number of correct responses. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 25.0 program, by chi-square test, t-test, and Fisher’s exact test.

Results: The mean age of the parents included in this study was 38.72±13.46 years. Of the 227 parents, 54% were female and 46% were male. No significant differences were observed in the distribution of parents’ gender, age, and education levels (p>0.05). The mean total score in the pretest was 7.13±1.91, which increased to 12.21±2.08 in the post-test, indicating a significant improvement in knowledge following the educational intervention. Notably, 56% of the parents demonstrated an increase in their total score in the post-test compared to the pre-test. According to the satisfaction survey, 74% of parents expressed satisfaction with the educational session provided.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that providing parents with structured educational programs on oral and dental health can greatly improve their knowledge and facilitate the development of improved oral health practices among children. Expanding these programs throughout the population could significantly enhance children’s oral health in the long term.