A Cross-Sectional Study of Parental Knowledge, Practices, and Predictors of Child Oral Health Behaviors and Fear in Zagreb, Croatia.

IF 1.8 Q3 DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE

Acta Stomatologica Croatica Pub Date : 2025-09-01 DOI:10.15644/asc59/3/4

Sanja Kolarić, Sanja Vučković-Hrkač, Luka Šimunović, Dubravka Negovetić-Vranić, Željko Verzak, Marjeta Majer

{"title":"A Cross-Sectional Study of Parental Knowledge, Practices, and Predictors of Child Oral Health Behaviors and Fear in Zagreb, Croatia.","authors":"Sanja Kolarić, Sanja Vučković-Hrkač, Luka Šimunović, Dubravka Negovetić-Vranić, Željko Verzak, Marjeta Majer","doi":"10.15644/asc59/3/4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objective: This study aimed to evaluate parental knowledge, behaviors, and sociodemographic predictors influencing children's oral hygiene practices, dental visitation patterns, and dental fear in Croatia.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involving 100 parents of children aged 0-7 years was conducted at the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb. A structured, validated questionnaire assessed parental knowledge, dietary habits, brushing frequency, fluoride use, dental visit reasons and frequency, and child dental fear. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, ANOVA, Spearman correlations, and logistic regression to identify predictors of inadequate oral hygiene, irregular dental attendance, and dental fear.Results: Only 68% of children brushed their teeth twice a day; 66% consumed sweets daily, and 33.3% drank sweetened beverages daily. Logistic regression revealed that brushing once per day or less-classified as inadequate brushing-was significantly predicted by daily consumption of snacks (OR = 2.91, p = 0.025) and low parental oral health knowledge (OR = 2.58, p = 0.043). Irregular dental visits were more likely in children with a history of dental pain (OR=3.42, p=0.019). Child dental fear (41.4%) was predicted by previous trauma (OR=26.4, p=0.001), frequent check-ups (OR=27.4, p=0.009), and parental education (OR=10.0, p=0.049), while trauma management knowledge was protective (OR=0.067, p=0.002). Fluoridated toothpaste use was positively associated with regular dental attendance.Conclusions: Children's oral health behaviors and fear are significantly influenced by parental knowledge, education, dietary patterns, and trauma experiences. Educational interventions targeting caregivers, particularly regarding trauma response and oral hygiene, are warranted to improve pediatric oral health outcomes.","PeriodicalId":7154,"journal":{"name":"Acta Stomatologica Croatica","volume":"59 3","pages":"262-275"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12490699/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acta Stomatologica Croatica","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.15644/asc59/3/4","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate parental knowledge, behaviors, and sociodemographic predictors influencing children's oral hygiene practices, dental visitation patterns, and dental fear in Croatia.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involving 100 parents of children aged 0-7 years was conducted at the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb. A structured, validated questionnaire assessed parental knowledge, dietary habits, brushing frequency, fluoride use, dental visit reasons and frequency, and child dental fear. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, ANOVA, Spearman correlations, and logistic regression to identify predictors of inadequate oral hygiene, irregular dental attendance, and dental fear.

Results: Only 68% of children brushed their teeth twice a day; 66% consumed sweets daily, and 33.3% drank sweetened beverages daily. Logistic regression revealed that brushing once per day or less-classified as inadequate brushing-was significantly predicted by daily consumption of snacks (OR = 2.91, p = 0.025) and low parental oral health knowledge (OR = 2.58, p = 0.043). Irregular dental visits were more likely in children with a history of dental pain (OR=3.42, p=0.019). Child dental fear (41.4%) was predicted by previous trauma (OR=26.4, p=0.001), frequent check-ups (OR=27.4, p=0.009), and parental education (OR=10.0, p=0.049), while trauma management knowledge was protective (OR=0.067, p=0.002). Fluoridated toothpaste use was positively associated with regular dental attendance.

Conclusions: Children's oral health behaviors and fear are significantly influenced by parental knowledge, education, dietary patterns, and trauma experiences. Educational interventions targeting caregivers, particularly regarding trauma response and oral hygiene, are warranted to improve pediatric oral health outcomes.

查看原文本刊更多论文

在萨格勒布，克罗地亚，父母的知识，实践和儿童口腔健康行为和恐惧的预测因素的横断面研究。

目的：本研究旨在评估父母的知识、行为和影响克罗地亚儿童口腔卫生习惯、牙科就诊模式和牙科恐惧的社会人口预测因素。材料和方法：在萨格勒布大学口腔医学院儿科和预防牙科学系进行了一项横断面研究，涉及100名0-7岁儿童的父母。一份结构化的、有效的问卷评估了父母的知识、饮食习惯、刷牙频率、氟化物的使用、看牙医的原因和频率以及儿童对牙医的恐惧。统计分析包括卡方检验、方差分析、Spearman相关性和逻辑回归，以确定口腔卫生不充分、不规律的牙科就诊和牙科恐惧的预测因素。结果：只有68%的儿童每天刷牙两次；66%的人每天吃甜食，33.3%的人每天喝含糖饮料。Logistic回归分析显示，每天刷牙一次或更少（归类为刷牙不充分）与每日零食消费（or = 2.91, p = 0.025）和父母口腔健康知识水平低（or = 2.58, p = 0.043）显著相关。有牙痛病史的儿童不规律就诊的可能性更大（OR=3.42, p=0.019）。既往外伤（OR=26.4, p=0.001）、频繁检查（OR=27.4, p=0.009）和父母教育（OR=10.0, p=0.049）预测儿童牙科恐惧（41.4%），创伤管理知识具有保护作用（OR=0.067, p=0.002）。使用含氟牙膏与定期看牙医呈正相关。结论：儿童的口腔健康行为和恐惧受到父母知识、教育、饮食习惯和创伤经历的显著影响。针对护理人员的教育干预措施，特别是关于创伤反应和口腔卫生，有必要改善儿科口腔健康结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Acta Stomatologica Croatica DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE-

CiteScore

2.40

自引率

28.60%

发文量

审稿时长

12 weeks

期刊介绍： The Acta Stomatologica Croatica (ASCRO) is a leading scientific non-profit journal in the field of dental, oral and cranio-facial sciences during the past 44 years in Croatia. ASCRO publishes original scientific and clinical papers, preliminary communications, case reports, book reviews, letters to the editor and news. Review articles are published by invitation from the Editor-in-Chief by acclaimed professionals in distinct fields of dental medicine. All manuscripts are subjected to peer review process.