Mothers' Knowledge and Practice about oral hygiene care of children

Objectives: The process of increasing dental decay is caused by the use of carbohydrates in developing countries such as Iran. The DMF for 12-year-old children increased from 1.9 (13%) to 4.4 in recent years. Tooth decay in adults is dependent on protecting the teeth in childhood. So the practice of mothers in protecting the teeth of their children is very important. It has been shown that improving the knowledge of parents so that they decrease consumption of carbohydrates and increase use of floride for their children is effective. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 150 mothers with children between 2-6 years who were refered to health services of Mehriz City. The cases were selected by a simple sampling method. The data was collected by the researcher completing questionnaire on behalf of the mother. Results: There was no significant difference between the knowledge of mothers with respect to childrens' age, although the practice of the mother was relevant to their age. Conclusion: The knowledge of mothers about oral hygiene care of their children was acceptable, which contrasts with studies in Europe and Australia which showed that the knowledge of mothers about oral hygiene care of their children was low.