Maternal knowledge on early childhood caries and barriers to seek dental treatment in Jordan

PURPOSE: To assess maternal knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) risk factors and to determine barriers in seeking dental treatment among children with ECC. METHODS: A total of 600 mothers of healthy children, aged 3–5 years, with ECC attending maternity and child health centres in Jordan completed a questionnaire using face-to-face interviews. ECC was diagnosed clinically by the chief investigator, based on the diagnostic criteria suggested by American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (AAPD), and caries was recorded using dmft index. RESULTS: The majority of the children had poor oral health status (99.2%) with a dmft index of 6.04 (± 1.2). Less than third (25.7%) of the mothers believed that their child had poor oral health with more than half (53.3%) not being aware that their child had dental caries. Most of the mothers had poor knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding their children’s oral health (82%). Participants` oral health knowledge was significantly associated with mothers` level of education and profession (p < 0.05). In addition, there was delay in seeking dental treatment for their children by the majority (65.9%) of mothers. Maternal profession, family income and time needed to reach a nearby health centre were found to be significant barriers in seeking dental treatment (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The majority of the mothers of children in Jordan with ECC had poor knowledge about their children’s oral health status. Moreover, seeking dental treatment was delayed by a large number of mothers of children with ECC.