Dana Al Bader, Lama Al Athel, Amjad H Wyne, Arham N Chohan.
Oral health knowledge and sources of information in parents of Saudi disabled children.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;26(1):101-8.

The objective of the study was to obtain information about oral health knowledge in parents of disable children and the parents` awareness about their disable child`s oral health. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized for this purpose. A total of 300 parents [235 (78.3%) mothers and 65 (21.7%) fathers] from the six disability centers in Riyadh completed the questionnaire. Slightly more than two-third (68.0%) of the parents thought that one must visit a dentist at least once every six months. Almost all the parents (99.7%) thought that cleaning teeth was important; mainly to prevent tooth decay (89.3%). About nine in ten (92.7%) parents had heard about fluoride. However, only 17.3% considered water as a possible source of fluoride. A high percentage of parents were not aware of cariogenic potential of packed juices (82.3%) and sweetened milks (74.3%). Regarding parents` awareness about their child`s oral health; 86.7% of the parents claimed to observe their child`s oral health. Almost all (98.7%) of them responded that they can maintain a good dental health in their children by supervising their tooth brushing, reducing sugary food intake and making regular visits to a dentist. A great majority (94.7%) of the parents believe that their child needs assistance in maintaining good oral hygiene. In about half (47.5%) of the children, the last dental visit was the first ever visit to a dentist, and one -fifth (20.5%) of the last visits were due to dental pain. It can be concluded that parents` knowledge of oral health was satisfactory in most areas. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the oral health of their disable children.

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