רפואת הפה והשיניים - עיתון ההסתדרות לרפואת שיניים בישראל - כרך ל"ז, גיליון מס' 2 אייר תש"פ

Discussion This study found that the majority of mothers of preschool children from the Arab sector in Israel had extensive gaps in KOH in topics that are highly relevant to their children’s oral health. A minute number of the mothers (10 mothers, 5.9%) answered more than 7 out of 12 questions correctly. This number is emphasized by the fact that most of the mothers (67.1%) reported of having an academic education. In spite the low overall scores in answering the questionnaires, the more educated mothers (above 12 years of education) got significantly higher scores than the others (31.8±13.8 vs. 23.7±14, p=0.001). These findings are in agreement with other studies that have shown that poor knowledge of mothers and other caregivers regarding their children’s oral health was directly proportional to mother’s lower education level (17, 18). A KOH study that was conducted among Israeli mothers living in the center of Israel also found an incomplete knowledge among more educated mothers but the results of that questionnaire found a much higher percentage of the mothers (47%) who managed to answer more than 7 questions correctly (16). Most of the mothers lacked the knowledge regarding oral hygiene issues (i.e. frequency of tooth brushing, amount of toothpaste and the need of brushing the child’s teeth by the parent). In fact, the only question concerning oral hygiene that was answered correctly by the majority of the mothers (78.2%) was about the need to replace the toothbrush every 3 months. This subject is frequently discussed in the media due to advertising promoting toothbrushes to adults, a fact that can explain the knowledge of this specific topic. Most of the mothers (69.5%) were not aware of the different concentrations of fluoride in children’s toothpastes. According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, tooth pastes that contain 500-900 ppm fluoride should be used by children aged 2-6 years, toothpastes that contain 1000-1500 ppm should be used for children aged 6 years and above,

“do not know” and only 15.8% and 11.7% respectively answered the correct answer according to the child’s age group (1-2 and 2-4 years old). Sixty-one mothers (35.8%) knew about the cariogenic potential of consuming baby formulas at night, and only 13.5% of the mothers thought that human breast milk can cause caries when the child nurses at night. Almost half of the mothers (46.4%) thought that the most important thing about eating sweets is that the amount should be restricted, and 41.7% of them answered that the best time to consume sweets is between meals. Half of the mothers (50%) did not use to taste their child’s food from her spoon. More than half of the mothers (52.3%) correctly responded that by the age of 4 years children should cease of the habit of using a pacifier, but only 9 mothers knew that the correct age for their child’s first dental visit should be in proximity to the eruption of the first tooth and no later than the age of one year (44% responded that it should be when their child reaches 3 years of age). Mothers were asked to rank six different food items according to their cariogenic potential on a scale of 1-4 (1= the least cariogenic, 4= the most cariogenic) (Table 2), and the highest ranked food among them was toffee. Salty snacks and cereals were considered as the least cariogenic food items and received almost the same ranking. The maternal knowledge was significantly related to the mother’s education (p=0.001). Mothers with an academic education received higher score than mothers with less than 12 years of education (31.8±13.8 vs. 23.7±14). Mothers who attend their dentist on a regular basis received statistically significant (p=0.02) higher scores (32.2±12.8) than those who did not (27.1±14.8). There was no statistically difference in the average score of mothers in respect to their age (>31.7 years or >31.7), the child’s age (>2 years or >2) or the child’s birth order.

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.2 רפואת הפה והשיניים, אייר תש״פ, כרך ל״ז, גיליון