Correlation Between Parental Knowledge of Oral Health and Dental Caries Incidence Among Preschool Children at Ar-Rahman Foundation Jombang
Abstract
Dental caries remains one of the most prevalent oral health problems among preschool children, and inadequate parental knowledge is often identified as a major contributing factor. Despite existing preventive programs, many parents still lack sufficient understanding of proper oral hygiene practices, which may exacerbate caries risk during early childhood. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between parental knowledge of oral health and the incidence of dental caries among preschool children enrolled at PAUD and Kindergarten under the Ar-Rahman Foundation in Jombang. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed involving 39 parents selected through total sampling. Parental knowledge was assessed using a structured questionnaire, while children’s dental caries status was measured using the deft index following WHO guidelines. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test with a significance level of α = 0.05. The results showed that more than half of the parents (51.3%) possessed low knowledge regarding oral health, while the prevalence of dental caries among preschool children remained high. Although descriptive patterns suggested that children of parents with lower knowledge tended to exhibit higher deft scores, statistical results (p = 0.286) indicated no significant association between parental knowledge and dental caries incidence. These findings highlight that knowledge alone may not sufficiently influence caries outcomes without being accompanied by consistent practice, behavioral reinforcement, and adequate access to oral health services. In conclusion, the high prevalence of dental caries observed in this study underscores the need for improved parental education and comprehensive health promotion strategies. Strengthening school-based oral health programs and enhancing parental involvement in preventive practices are essential to reducing the burden of caries among preschool-aged children.
Full text article
References
[1] A. G. Folayan et al., “Global burden of untreated caries,” Community Dent. Oral Epidemiol., 2020.
[2] S. M. Paiva et al., “Early childhood caries: Global epidemiology,” Int. J. Paediatr. Dent., 2021.
[3] J. C. Frencken et al., “Caries epidemiology in LMICs,” Int. Dent. J., 2020.
[4] WHO, “Oral health status report,” 2022.
[5] Ministry of Health Indonesia, “Laporan Kesehatan Gigi Nasional,” 2023.
[6] R. N. Putri et al., “Caries in Indonesian preschoolers,” BMC Oral Health, 2022.
[7] R. Alamoudi et al., “Impact of parental behaviors on child oral health,” Int. J. Community Med., 2023.
[8] N. Sholekhah, “Maternal knowledge and ECC,” Indonesian J. Dentistry, 2021.
[9] Y. Rahina et al., “Parental oral health literacy,” IJKG, 2019.
[10] R. Firmino et al., “Parental OHL as predictor of ECC,” Int. J. Paediatr. Dent., 2018.
[11] F. Hakeem et al., “Association of parental perceptions and child caries,” JISPCD, 2023.
[12] A. Atanyan et al., “Parental knowledge in rural communities,” Eur. J. Public Health, 2023.
[13] S. Fadlilah, “Parental knowledge and caries,” J. Oral Health Care, 2019.
[14] M. Primasanti et al., “Mother–child mentoring programs,” JIPPM, 2022.
[15] A. Zaborskis et al., “Parental involvement in dental care,” Children, 2024.
[16] T. Tamannur et al., “Maternal practices and oral hygiene,” 2024.
[17] P. van Spreuwel et al., “Parents’ willingness for prevention,” IJERPH, 2021.
[18] S. AlShaya et al., “Digital health for oral hygiene education,” BMC Oral Health, 2022.
[19] L. Moy et al., “Mobile oral health interventions,” Telemed. J., 2021.
[20] K. J. Patel et al., “Technology-assisted parental education,” J. Dent. Educ., 2020.
[21] Z. Liu et al., “Socioeconomic determinants of ECC,” Front. Public Health, 2021.
[22] G. S. Rodrigues et al., “Access to dental services,” Oral Health Prev. Dent., 2020.
[23] J. D. Silva et al., “Barriers in oral health literacy,” BMC Health Serv., 2021.
[24] R. Ulfah et al., “Parental behavior and caries,” J. Public Health, 2020.
[25] M. Zaki et al., “Maternal knowledge and child oral health,” World Sci. Res., 2024.
[26] M. F. Arkan et al., “Knowledge and caries among schoolchildren,” Indonesian J. Health Med., 2023.
[27] D. S. Fauzi et al., “Maternal motivation and ECC,” E-IJHM, 2022.
[28] N. W. Atmadjati et al., “Parental roles and caries in children,” IJHM, 2023.
[29] C. Kassebaum et al., “Epidemiological approaches to oral health,” J. Dent. Res., 2020.
[30] S. Peres et al., “Oral health epidemiology methods,” Community Dent. Health, 2021.
[31] WHO, Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods, 5th ed., 2022.
[32] F. Yusof et al., “Validation of oral health literacy instruments,” BMC Oral Health, 2020.
[33] R. Firmino et al., “Parental knowledge measurement tools,” Int. J. Paediatr. Dent., 2021.
[34] A. S. Silva et al., “Clinical criteria for caries detection,” Clin. Oral Investig., 2022.
[35] H. Moreira et al., “Reliability of deft index in field studies,” Int. Dent. J., 2023.
[36] S. Hastono, “Application of Chi-Square in health research,” J. Public Health Anal., 2020.
[37] A. F. Martins et al., “Statistical considerations in cross-sectional dental studies,” Oral Health Prev. Dent., 2021.
[38] P. Batra et al., “Best practices in oral health data analysis,” BMC Oral Health, 2022.
[39] M. Rahman et al., “Parenting practices and oral hygiene behavior,” BMC Oral Health, 2021.
[40] Y. Wu et al., “Parental supervision and child toothbrushing habits,” Int. J. Paediatr. Dent., 2023.
[41] A. Janz and M. Becker, “Health Belief Model in oral health behavior,” J. Behav. Med., 2022.
[42] A. Lestari et al., “Oral health literacy and caries in Indonesian preschoolers,” J. Public Health Dent., 2020.
[43] G. Noronha et al., “Parental knowledge and ECC risk factors,” Pediatr. Dent., 2021.
[44] P. Limpo et al., “Influence of parental knowledge on ECC,” BMC Oral Health, 2023.
[45] R. Parra et al., “Caregiver awareness and caries prevalence,” Clin. Oral Investig., 2022.
[46] A. Sharma et al., “Knowledge and caries in preschool children,” Indian J. Dent. Res., 2024.
[47] J. Goh et al., “Knowledge–practice gap in child oral hygiene,” Community Dent. Health, 2021.
[48] S. Tinanoff et al., “Multifactorial determinants of ECC,” Pediatr. Dent., 2019.
[49] C. Martins et al., “Effect of parental involvement on toothbrushing outcomes,” J. Dent. Res., 2022.
[50] M. Oliveira et al., “School-based oral health programs and caries prevention,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2023.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2025 Heva Pratiwi, Silvia Prasetyowati, Sunomo Hadi, Imam Sarwo Edi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlikel 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).