Knowledge, attitude and practice of students’ parents about fissure sealant

Somayeh Khoramian Tusi Abdolreza Farhadi Ahmad Jafari 3 Gholam Ali Najafi 1. Dept of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran 2. Dentist 3. Research Center for Caries Prevention, Dentistry Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4. Dept of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran Corresponding Author: najafi471@gmail.com Background: Using fissure sealant is a main method to prevent the occlusal dental caries. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice students’ parents of Karaj city about fissure sealant in 2017. Materials and methods: In this analytical descriptive research, 384 parents were evaluated. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. Students, dental caries and use of fissure sealant were recorded by direct examination of the students. Spearman Correlation was used to study the relationship between demographic variables and dependent variables. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the twoway correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice scores. Results: More than half of students had dental caries on their first permanent molar. Frequency of fissure sealant using was 10.7%. The mean score of the parents' knowledge was 4.18 ± 1.84out of 8 and was at a medium level. Parents' awareness of the use of fissure sealant was significantly related to occupation, number of children and parent’s education. The mean score of the parents' attitude was 29.36±3.12 in good level. Parents' attitudes were significantly related to the occupation and education of parents. The average practice score of the parents was 16.7±2.5 and was in good level. Parents' practice was significantly associated with the occupation of the parents. The relationship between knowledge and attitude, the relationship between knowledge and practice, and attitude with the performance were significant. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that the practice and attitude of students, parents of Karaj city regarding use of fissure sealant were relatively high, but awareness was medium.