ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS AMONG EGYPTIAN PARENTS IN RELATION TO ORAL HEALTH STATUS OF THEIR CHILDREN

Background: Good oral health is essential for the overall health and well-being of a child and is one of the important factors for a disease-free life. .Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate oral health awareness among Egyptian parents and its relationship with the dental health status of their children. Subjects and methods: one hundred and ten children aged 6–12 years selected from outpatients visiting the public dental clinic of October 6 university hospital ,were included in the study. A comprehensive questionnaire with apparent validity was designed enclosing questions regarding views of parents on oral health knowledge for their children, caries prevention and role of diet, which was distributed to the parents .Results: There was no statistically significant difference between DMFT and deft scores in children with the unsatisfactory and satisfactory awareness levels of their parents. DMFT showed positive significant correlation with age and total parental questionnaire score. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between age and deft , also deft showed negative insignificant correlation with total parental questionnaire score. Finally, there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between DMFT and deft. Conclusion: Parents' knowledge and awareness of oral health were poor among Egyptian parents. Special attention should be directed to parents with low socioeconomic status who need to be more educated about oral health of their children