Introduction. It is widely acknowledged that the behavior of parents affects their children’s health. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between oral health behavior of parents and oral health status and behavior of their children in a sample of preschool children in Iran. Method and Material. A random sample of over-five-year-old preschool children and their parents were enrolled in the study. Selection of schools was by clustering method. Parents were asked to fill a piloted questionnaire which included demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, oral health behaviors of children and their parents. Oral health status of children was examined. The parent and their children oral health relationship were tested using regression and correlation analysis. Results. About 222 parents and children participated in the study. There was a significant relationship between history of having dental problems in parents and dmft index in their children ( ). There was a significant relationship between parental frequency of tooth brushing and child frequency of tooth brushing ( ); however, there was no significant relationship between parental frequency of dental visits and those of their children ( ). Conclusion. The study concluded that some important health behaviors in parents, such as tooth brushing habits are important determinants of these behaviors in their young children. So promoting parent knowledge and attitude could affect their children oral health behavior and status. 1. Introduction It is widely acknowledged that the behavior of parents, and in particular mothers, affects their children’s health [1]. It is also about oral health that the role of parents is very important, because they are the main caregivers of oral health to their children during the first three years of life, even in preschool, parents are still the main supplier of children’s oral health [2]. Some factors such as maternal education, occupation, age, current knowledge, attitude, and behavior can provide insight for improving their health habits and their children’s health indirectly [3]. The relationship between dental health of mothers and dental caries in their children can be explained by the influence of faulty dietary and hygiene habits on infants as well as by infection of the child’s mouth by maternal bacteria [4, 5]. Therefore, tooth brushing habits of mothers, dietary habits, and food choices are directly associated with those of their children [5, 6]. Dental care professionals accept that efforts aimed at improving parental oral health behaviors could
References
[1]
A. Case and C. Paxson, “Parental behavior and child health,” Health Affairs, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 164–178, 2002.
[2]
A. McDonald, Dentistry for the Child and Adolscent, Mosby, 9th edition, 2011.
[3]
T. I. Wigen and N. J. Wang, “Parental influences on dental caries development in preschool children. An overview with emphasis on recent Norwegian research,” Norsk Epidemiologi, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 13–19, 2012.
[4]
V. Law, W. K. Seow, and G. Townsend, “Factors influencing oral colonization of mutans streptococci in young children,” Australian Dental Journal, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 93–100, 2007.
[5]
R. Touger-Decker and C. van Loveren, “Sugars and dental caries,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 881s–892s, 2003.
[6]
B. A. Dye, C. M. Vargas, J. J. Lee, L. Magder, and N. Tinanoff, “Assessing the relationship between children’s oral health status and that of their mothers,” The Journal of the American Dental Association, vol. 142, no. 2, pp. 173–183, 2011.
[7]
Prakash, “Relationship between caregiver’s and child’s caries prevalence among disadvantaged African Americans,” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, vol. 36, pp. 191–200, 2008.
[8]
I. A. Isong, K. E. Zuckerman, S. R. Rao, K. A. Kuhlthau, J. P. Winickoff, and J. M. Perrin, “Association between parents' and children's use of oral health services,” Pediatrics, vol. 125, no. 3, pp. 502–508, 2010.
[9]
D. M. Shearer, W. M. Thomson, J. M. Broadbent, and R. Poulton, “Does maternal oral health predict child oral health-related quality of life in adulthood?” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, vol. 9, article 50, 2011.
[10]
P. M. Adair, C. M. Pine, G. Burnside et al., “Familial and cultural perceptions and beliefs of oral hygiene and dietary practices among ethnically and socio-economically diverse groups,” Community Dental Health, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 102–111, 2004.
[11]
A. Topaloglu-Ak, E. Eden, and J. E. Frencken, “Managing dental caries in children in Turkey—a discussion paper,” BMC Oral Health, vol. 9, no. 1, article 32, 2009.
[12]
S. J. Erickson, M. Gerstle, and S. W. Feldstein, “Brief interventions and motivational interviewing with children, adolescents, and their parents in pediatric health care settings: a Review,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, vol. 159, no. 12, pp. 1173–1180, 2005.
[13]
H. Loe and J. Sillnes, “Periodontal disease in pregnancy, prevalence and severity,” Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, vol. 21, pp. 533–551, 1963.
[14]
R. R. Lobene, T. Weatherford, N. M. Ross, R. A. Lamm, and L. Menaker, “A modified gingival index for use in clinical trials,” Clinical Preventive Dentistry, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 3–6, 1986.
[15]
T. Malekmohammadi and A. Hajizamani, “A review on traditional caries diagnostic systems and introducing new international caries detection and assessment system (ICDAS),” Shiraz Dental School Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 67–83, 2011.
[16]
A. Abiola Adeniyi, O. Eyitope Ogunbodede, O. Sonny Jeboda, and O. Morenike Folayan, “Do maternal factors influence the dental health status of Nigerian pre-school children?” International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, vol. 19, no. 6, pp. 448–454, 2009.
[17]
M. Hooleya, H. Skouterisa, C. Boganina, J. Saturb, and N. Kilpatrickc, “Parental influence and the development of dental caries in children aged 0–6 years: a systematic review of the literature,” Journal of Dentistry, vol. 40, no. 10, pp. 787–872, 2012.
[18]
T. I. Wigen and N. J. Wang, “Caries and background factors in Norwegian and immigrant 5-year-old children,” Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 19–28, 2010.
[19]
G. Vanagas, ?. Mila?auskiene, V. Grabauskas, and A. Mickevi?iene, “Associations between parental skills and their attitudes toward importance to develop good oral hygiene skills in their children,” Medicina, vol. 45, no. 9, pp. 718–723, 2009.
[20]
J. S. Savage, J. O. Fisher, and L. L. Birch, “Parental influence on eating behavior: conception to adolescence,” Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 22–34, 2007.
[21]
R. Brown and J. Ogden, “Children's eating attitudes and behaviour: a study of the modelling and control theories of parental influence,” Health Education Research, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 261–271, 2004.