A survey of the knowledge, attitude and practices of antenatal mothers in Lagos, Nigeria about the primary teeth

Abstract

To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of antenatal mothers about the primary dentition. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Lagos. It assessed the knowledge, attitude and practices of 464 Nigerian mothers about the primary teeth. All the mothers were seen at the antenatal clinics of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and primary health centres in the local government area of the teaching hospital. The mothers' knowledge of the 2 most commonly presenting oral conditions: bleeding gums and dental caries were evaluated. Results of the study showed that approximately 36.7 % of the mothers had received information on oral health care from a dentist. About seventy percent (71.33%) reported that primary teeth were important and 79.31% agreed with the statement that tooth decay was preventable. However, only 8% of the mothers used toothbrush and toothpaste for cleaning their children's teeth. Only 37(7.97%) of the mothers had taken their children to a dentist before. The visits were for symptoms of pain and tooth decay. There was a statistically significant association between educational status and knowledge of primary teeth, (p=0.003308).