Abstract
Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the general characteristics of parents to their children's oral health care. The subjects in this study were 117 parents and their children who resided in rural communities in the region of K. Methods : A survey was conducted with the consent of the parents from July 1 to 30, 2010. As for the survey on the children, the children who were in the lower grades were interviewed, and the upper graders filled out the questionnaires in person. A frequency analysis was carried out to find out the general characteristics of the parents and children, and x2-test was utilized to grasp the links between the general characteristics of the parents and the children's oral health care. A SPSS WIN 12.0 program was employed to analyze all the collected data. The findings of the study were as follows: Result : 1. As a result of investigating the relationship of the occupation of the parents to the children's regular dental checkup, the 71.8 percent of the entire children didn't get a dental checkup on a regular basis. The biggest percentage of the children of the self-employed parents(100%) got a regular dental checkup, and 90.9 percent of the children of the government workers did that(p<.05). 2. As a result of checking the relationship of the occupation of the parents to the children's dental-caries experiences, 39.3 percent of the whole children had no such experiences. The largest percentage of the children of the company employees(51.9%) had dental-caries experiences(p<.05). 3. Concerning the links between the academic credential of the parents and the children's toothbrushing method, the biggest percentage of the children(40.2%) brushed their teeth up and down. The largest rate of the children whose parents were high-school graduates(41.5%) brushed their teeth in that way(p<.05). 4. Regarding the links between the toothbrushing time of the parents and the children's view, 43.6 percent found their parents to take good care of their teeth to make them clean. 60 percent whose parents brushed their teeth after having breakfast and dinner took the best view(p<.001). 5. As for the oral-health education experiences of the parents and a time for the children's change of toothbrushes, 29.1 percent changed their toothbrushes every two months, and 29.1 percent did that not on a regular basis but when the bristles of their toothbrushes got bent(p<.05). Conclusions : The above-mentioned findings suggest that in order to promote children's oral health in consideration of the characteristics of their parents, children should be urged to get a regular dental checkup, and the development of oral-health education programs in which parents and children can participate together is urgently required.
