Resumo

CLEA ADAS SALIBA et al. Oral health in school: assessment of parental knowledge and oral health condition of children. RFO UPF [online]. 2016, vol.21, n.1, pp. 81-89. ISSN 1413-4012.

Objective: To assess the oral health status of preschoolers and the knowledge of parents on oral health. Subjects and method: Cross-sectional analytical study with a sample of 147 parents and their children, in public schools of basic education of Araçatuba, SP, Brazil. A questionnaire with sociodemographic and oral health knowledge questions was applied. Oral clinical examination was performed in children to verify dmft and OHI-S. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software. Results: The majority of respondents were women (60.5%) aged 18-34 years (66.0%). Regarding level of education, 56.5% studied from 10 to 12 years and 68.7% worked, but the majority had family income between 1 and 2 minimum wages (51%) and 18.4% received family allowance. The oral health status of children was good and the average dmft was 0.68. Most children presented mean oral hygiene index (OHI-S 1.51, sd=0.48). Bivariate analysis showed an association between the cause of dental caries and gender of parents (p=0.036). Caries prevention was statistically associated with age (p=0.045) and race (p=0.008) of parents. Conclusion: Knowledge of parents and guardians on oral health was not adequate, despite the good condition of their children's oral health. Sociodemographic factors such as gender, age, race, and level of education of parents were associated with greater knowledge on oral health.

Palavras-chave : Health education.; Knowledge.; Oral health.; Preschool..