Mothers’ knowledge and self-reported performance regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries and associated factors: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Dental trauma is common among children. It has negative effects on a child’s quality of life. Parental knowledge, especially among mothers is an important factor for the long-term success of this emergency. This study aimed to investigate mothers’ knowledge and self-reported performance regarding the management of traumatic dental injuries and associated socio-demographic factors. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 277 mothers of children (8–12 years) attending the pediatrics department of Alborz dental school were studied by convenience sampling. The participants completed a valid reliable questionnaire about the management of traumatic dental injuries. The predictor variables were the child’s gender, maternal education and employment status, economic status, and accommodation status. The outcome variables were the mothers’ knowledge about the management of traumatic dental injuries (Eight statements with 10 scores) and self-reported performance including four case scenarios of traumatic dental injury (Five questions with 7 scores). Data were analyzed by T-test or One-way ANOVA to test the within-group changes, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Linear multiple regression to examine the effect of predictor variables on maternal knowledge and self-reported performance. RESULTS: The mean score of mothers’ knowledge was 3.43; SD = 1.58 (total score ranged from 0 to 10). The mean score of mothers’ performance was 3.38; SD = 1.2 (total score ranged from 0 to 7). Mothers who work (p < 0.001) and mothers with high qualifications (p < 0.001) had higher knowledge. Furthermore, mothers who work (p = 0.011), mothers with high qualifications (p < 0.001), and those who have had previous experience with traumatic dental injuries (p < 0.001) had higher self-reported performance. The results of multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated the association between mothers’ knowledge with mothers’ education (β = 0.22, p = 0.001) and mothers’ employment status (β = 0.15, p = 0.017), while there is a relationship between mothers’ self-reported performance and mothers’ education (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Since the means of mothers’ knowledge and performance scores regarding dental trauma management, were less than half of the obtainable scores as well as mothers have a crucial role in the children’s oral health, it is important to increase the mothers’ knowledge and improve their performance in this context. Therefore, running educational programs is necessary for this respect. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-022-03735-y.