Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: Considering the role of primary teeth in children's dental health and the importance of parental role on children dental health the purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of parents of 3-9 year-old children regarding to maintaining primary teeth.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on the parents referring to Ahwaz dental school in 2017. Using a questionnaire, the participants' demographic characteristics, knowledge and performance regarding maintaining of the primary molars were collected. The percentage of correct responses was considered as the level of knowledge and performance. Analysis of K-square and Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test were employed to determine the relationship between the participants' knowledge and performance and their demographic variables. The significance level was P<0.05.
Results: 176 parents completed the questionnaire. The mean parental knowledge score was 57.42±7.45
(range 15-75), and the mean practice score was, 9.42±1.86 (range 4-12). No relationship was found between the parents’ age, sex, knowledge, and performance. The knowledge of parents who had a history of referral to the dentist, fewer children (rs=0.428), higher education (rs=0.490) and higher income (r=0.226) was significantly better (P<0.001). Also practice increases with higher awareness of parents (r=0.549) (P<0.001). The parents’ practice was significantly related to the history of referral to the dentist, and having fewer children (rs=0.320), higher education (rs=0.369), and higher income (r=0.253) (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the knowledge and practice of the parents about primary teeth were moderate. Regarding the important role of primary teeth in children's health, increasing the parents’ knowledge on the maintenance of primary teeth is essential.

Background and Aims: Dental caries affects the quality of life of children and parents, oral health and overall health which can interfere with the childrens’ daily activities and growth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the severity of dental caries and quality of life in pre-school children.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 145 parents and preschool children aged 2-5 years old referring to Ahvaz dental school and a pediatric dentistry office in Ahvaz city. The convenient sampling method was used and participants were patients referred to the faculty of dentistry and one pediatric dentistry office in Ahvaz. Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) questionnaire was used to evaluate the oral health related quality of life. The demographic information and dmft index (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) was assessed for children. Statistical analyzes included descriptive statistics, Spearman and Pearson tests.
Results: The mean age of children was 4.12 ± 1.2 years. 72 children (49.65%) were boys and 73 of children (50.34%) were girls. Based on our results the mean ECOHIS score was 39.69 ± 18.95. There was a significant correlation between decreased quality of life and the lower age of the children (P=0.047), less parental education (P=0.018), more dmft score (P=0.000).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that severity of dental caries is effective on children's quality of life. The quality of life of children decreases with the increase in the dmft, lower socio-economic status of parents, and higher age of parents.