Parents' concern for child oral health

부모의 자녀에 대한 구강건강 관심도 조사

The purpose of this study was to examine the interest level of mothers in oral health. The subjects in this study were 184 mothers whose children attended daycare centers in the city of K. A survey was conducted from March 15 through April 30, 2007, and SPSS WIN 11.5 program was employed to analyze their answer sheets. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. A group of mothers whose children brushed their teeth three times a day on the average made up 55.7 percent of those who were at the age of 35 and under. Among the mothers having three or more children, those mothers accounted for 59.1 percent. The daily mean toothbrushing frequency of children was higher among the better-educated mothers. 2. Concerning dietary and oral guidance, the mothers whose academic background was better curbed their children's excessive sugar intake more often, and the gap between them and the others was statistically significant(pE.05). As to the importance of oral health by the number of child and academic credential, those who had two children(36.0%) taught them the importance of oral health frequently(pE.01), and the better-educated mothers taught about it often(pE.05). The gap between the groups and the others was significant. 3. As for experience of visiting dental institutions, the working mothers visited dental institutions more often than the stay-at-home mothers, and the gap between them was statistically significant(pE.05). Regarding purpose of the visit, the largest group aimed to get treatment(64.6%), followed by having a dental checkup(14.6%) and receiving preventive treatment(13.5%). As to any inconveniences in using dental institutions, those who were working and who were in the upper income bracket found it more inconvenient to do that because of a long distance or time constraints. The gap between them and the others was significant. 4. In regard to concern for dental care, the mothers who were better educated(pE.001) and whose family income was 3 million won or more had their teeth scaled more often, and the gap between them and the others was statistically significant(pE.01). The rate of the regular visitors of dental institutions stood at 32.7 percent of the junior-college graduates, 31.0 percent of the mothers receiving college or higher education and 10.1 percent of the high-school graduates(pE.01). And those who earned larger income paid a visit to dental institutions more often and on a regular basis. The gap between them and the others was statistically significant(pE.05).