Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective To analyze the perception of mothers about oral health of their children, as well as to check the influence of demographic variables, perception and preventive practice in oral health of mothers regarding guidance received during pregnancy.Methods Quantitative and cross-sectional field study, with a non-probability sample formed by all mothers who attended the primary healthcare unit of Ijuí (RS), Brazil, from January to July 2014, comprising a sample of 79 women. Self-applied questionnaires were given to these mothers. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics, the χ2 test at a significance level of 5%.Results The mothers who received dental orientation during pregnancy had greater perception of oral health of their children. The mean age of mothers was 26 years, most of them attended high school education (32.9%) and worked outside the home (60.8%). There was a statistically significant relation between the outcome variable, dental orientation during pregnancy, and the independent variables: schooling level of mothers, occupation, baby’s first visit to the dentist, duration of breastfeeding, beginning of baby’s tooth brushing and knowledge about dental decay (p<0.005).Conclusion Mothers with higher schooling levels and who worked outside the home had more knowledge about oral care, because they received dental orientation during pregnancy. The dental guidance during pregnancy influences the mother in the procedures adopted with their children, as to early oral hygiene, first dentist appointment, duration of breastfeeding, knowledge about the factors that lead to dental decay.
Highlights
IntroductionOne can observe the need for establishing studies based on prior knowledge of the persons responsible for the children/mothers, as to care with one’s own oral health and that of one’s children, in order to formulate viable proposals and adjust the preventive/educational programs to create new values.(4)
Pregnant women should be considered a priority population group for dental care, considering several factors of this phase: (1) they may present with oral alterations typical of the gestational period; (2) they have accumulated needs that can compromise health of the mother and child; (3) they should be targets of health education programs since they multiply attitudes within the family network, influencing in the family’s eating and hygiene habits; (4) they comprise an easy access group, since they systematically go to the healthcare facilities during this period, which is an important facilitator; with this, women can be included in programmed periodic programs, and to not focus on them would be to lose a precious opportunity.(2)
Mothers play a fundamental role as messengers of good behavior regarding their children’s oral health. The greater their knowledge about positive attitudes towards oral habits, the better the children’s oral condition.(10) Implementing prenatal dental care promotion by means of posters and leaflets has brought a great advancement on the national level, with direct reflexes on the behavior of mothers. Even with these advancements, in this study, we observed that among the mothers interviewed, a minority of them obtained dental orientation during pregnancy, corroborating a similar study in which mothers, when questioned as to whether they had received any orientation related to their children’s oral hygiene care during the prenatal visits, 48% stated that they had never received any type of guidance related to dentistry.(1) In another study, carried out in the city of Caruaru (PE), with pregnant women, most of those interviewed from both groups, had never received information on dental care of their child; those who had, had received it only from their dentist
Summary
One can observe the need for establishing studies based on prior knowledge of the persons responsible for the children/mothers, as to care with one’s own oral health and that of one’s children, in order to formulate viable proposals and adjust the preventive/educational programs to create new values.(4). Both dental caries and periodontal diseases have a dynamic character and develop by an imbalance in the health process, and not due to a fatality in the life of the individual. As a consequence of the facts covered, several maternal/child care programs were implemented, currently making the importance of early dental care a consolidated and indisputable fact.(6)
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