PARENTAL AWARENESS ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN’S FIRST DENTAL VISIT AND REASONS FOR THE VISIT

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of parents about their children’s first dental visit. A total of 114 parents accompanying their children during visits to pediatric dentistry clinics in King Saud University College of Dentistry (KSUCD) participated in the study. A self?administered questionnaire was utilized to collect information about various aspects of knowledge and attitudes of the parents toward their children’s first dental visit. Only 8.8% of the participants agreed that the child’s first dental visit should be at age one year or earlier. Most of the parents (85.1%) agreed that a child should visit a dentist regularly every 6 months. Whereas, less than half (48.2%) of participants agreed that it is important for a 1-2-year-old child to go for routine dental checkups even if no dental problem exists. Almost half the participants (49.6%) reported not having any barrier preventing them from taking their children to see a dentist. It can be concluded that parents of the Saudi children lack sufficient knowledge about the correct timings for a child’s first dental visit and routine check-up dental visits.