Effectiveness of a lecture-based educational module for parental knowledge regarding infant oral health care

Abstract

Context: As parents are primarily responsible for their infant's oral health, it is dependent on their beliefs, attitude, and knowledge. Thus, educating parents by providing anticipatory guidance could help in improving the oral health of infants. Aim: To test the effectiveness of a lecture-based educational module in the improvement and retention of parental knowledge regarding infant oral health care. Setting and Design: This interventional study, with the inclusion of 110 parents of infants, was carried out in the Departments of Pediatric Dentistry, Pediatrics, and Gynaecology. Subjects and Methods: An educational module in the form of a brief lecture using a power-point presentation was prepared. This included the key features of anticipatory guidance such as the importance of healthy pregnancy, diet and nutrition, oral hygiene maintenance, feeding practices, development of teeth, causes and sequelae of early childhood caries, importance of early and regular dental visits, and treatment of carious primary teeth. Parental knowledge regarding infant oral health was assessed before and after the intervention, and later at a 3-month interval, based on their responses to a validated questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentage analysis was used to observe the change in, and retention of parents' knowledge. Results: There is a lack of basic knowledge among parents regarding infant oral health care. The lecture-based educational module was found to be effective in improving parental knowledge and in its retention over a 3-month period. Conclusions: The lecture-based education module was found to be an effective tool in providing anticipatory guidance to parents regarding infant oral health.