TITLE:
Assessment of Mothers’ Oral Health Knowledge: Towards Oral Health Promotion for Infants and Children
AUTHORS:
Folakemi Oredugba, Maarufah Agbaje, Oladipo Ayedun, Adebayo Onajole
KEYWORDS:
Mothers, Children, Knowledge, Oral Health Promotion
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.6 No.10,
April
4,
2014
ABSTRACT: Aim: To assess the knowledge and oral health practices of a selected population of mothers in order to develop appropriate oral health promotion program for children in the area. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out among a convenient sample of mothers who attended two well-baby clinics—a tertiary and a primary health care centre in Lagos, Nigeria. A questionnaire requesting personal information, previous exposure to and source of oral health education (OHE), knowledge of oral health, diet and oral hygiene practices was administered. Results: There were 104 participants, aged 21 - 46 years (mean 32.01 ± 4.85 years); 58.7% had received OHE, 23.1% from electronic media, 22.1% dentist and 9.6%, doctor or nurse. Only 44 (42.3%) had attended the dentist, 5 (4.8%) in