Resumo

CAMPOS, Luciane et al. Knowledge of mothers from different social classes regarding oral health in the city of Cocal do Sul (SC). RSBO (Online) [online]. 2010, vol.7, n.3, pp. 287-295. ISSN 1984-5685.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries and periodontal disease are common anomalies, and socioeconomic factors may interfere in the development of these pathologies. We believe that the knowledge of mothers regarding oral health is important because the family members create and transmit values, knowledge and health practices. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the knowledge of mothers from different social classes regarding oral health. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a target population of 416 mothers of children aged from 0 to 6 years. Each participant was asked to answer an interview with questions related to age, number of children, level of education, family income and knowledge regarding oral health. The interviewees' level of knowledge was classified as: good, medium and low. The Aba/Abipeme [1] indicator was used for the socioeconomic classification. RESULTS: The majority of the interviewees (49.8%) were classified in social class B. With regards to receiving information about oral health, 83.3% of the mothers of class A and 31.8% of class D reported that they had received it. The majority of the mothers that reported having received information mentioned the physician (35.7%) and the dentist (21.8%) as the main sources. The interviewees of classes A, B and C presented a medium level of knowledge, while the interviewees of class D showed a low level of knowledge regarding oral health. CONCLUSION: The socioeconomic factor had influenced on reception of information regarding oral health. Mothers of the lowest socioeconomic level showed to have lower knowledge regarding oral health.

Palavras-chave : health knowledge; attitudes; practice; oral health; mothers.