Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents toward Their Children's Oral Health and its Influence on the Dental Caries Status of 5-10-year-old Schoolchildren in Nashik, Maharashtra: A Cross-sectional Study

AIM: The aim of the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents toward their children's oral health and its influence on the dental caries status of 5-10 years old schoolchildren in Nashik, Maharashtra. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among parents of 5-10 years old school children who visited our hospital. A total of 504 children and their parents were included in the study. Clinical examination of children was done using DMFT and deft index. A self-designed questionnaire was given to the parents to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices toward their children's oral health. Statistical analysis was performed using EPI INFO version 6.04. ANOVA test was used to test the association between dental caries status and KAP. p -value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean DMFT was 1.6 ± 1.5 and mean deft was 6.6 ± 3.4. Majority of the parents (64.9%) showed fair knowledge, attitude, and practices. There was no significant difference between mean DMFT/deft and parental KAP. CONCLUSION: Overall the parents in the present study had reasonable KAP about oral health of their children. Deficient areas of oral health awareness include importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Oral health awareness programs should be directed toward parents and should emphasize on topics such as importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Patil AN, Karkare S, Jadhav HS, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents toward Their Children's Oral Health and its Influence on the Dental Caries Status of 5-10-year-old School-children in Nashik, Maharashtra: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S126-S130.