Parental age and gender in relation to first dental visit

Objectives: The preliminary study was conducted to evaluate parents' knowledge and attitude towards timing first dental examination for children, need for behavior modification during first visit, and association of parental age and gender on dental knowledge and attitude. Materials and Methods: A structured close ended questionnaire was administered to ninety six parents when they attended to Pediatric Dental Clinic, Universiti Technology MARA, Malaysia. Obtained data was analyzed using frequency, percentage and Chi square tests to measure significance of difference in responses. Results: Minority of parents (12.5%) knew first examination should be in child's year one with no significant differences between gender and the recommended time of first visit (p>0.05). Most parents (71.5%) predicted dentition is not complete at this age hence no need to visit dentist, however significant difference is noted between fathers and mothers (p<0.05). About (67.7%) of participants appreciated to have behavior modification introduced in first visit with significant difference between genders, and (54.2%) preferred to carry out behavior modification if child had no pain, with no significant difference between genders. About (65.6%) expressed need to revisit dentist after treatment of chief complaint for further treatment or prevention with no significant difference between gender values (p>0.05). The parental age of parents was no significant effect on their knowledge and attitude. Conclusions: Parental gender is significantly related, irrelevant to age, to some knowledge and attitude concerning first dental visit and behavior modification prior to treatment. However, they misjudged to time the first dental visit according to American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Parents should realize the importance of early examination by 12 months of age as dental prevention approach. It can be concluded that dental awareness among parents about first visit should be improved.