Mothers’ knowledge and practices towards oral hygiene of their children aged 5-9 years old: a cross-sectional study in Dhaka

Abstract Background Healthy oral hygiene is crucial for overall health and well-being. Parents’ dental care knowledge and practice affect their children’s oral health. Thus, this study assessed the oral hygiene knowledge and practice in mothers of children aged 5-9 years. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 January to 31 December 2022 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mothers’ oral hygiene knowledge and practices were assessed through a semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis including the Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal– Wallis one-way ANOVA test were performed to show average knowledge and practice variations among different socio-demographics of mothers. Results Out of 400 samples, the mean age of mothers was 30.94±5.15 years where majority were in Muslim faith (97%), housewife (86.8%) and came from nuclear family (68.0%). The prevalence of good knowledge was 41.2%, following 21.5% had moderately average, 18.8% had average and 18.5% mothers had poor knowledge respectively on their children’s oral hygiene. On the other hand, 45.5% mothers had good practice, following 19.5% had average practice, 18.8% had moderately average and 16.2% had poor practice behavior. Mothers’ knowledge levels were significantly (p<0.05) associated with age, education, family size, and monthly income. On the other hand, educational status and income was significantly (p<0.05) associated with mothers’ oral hygiene practices. Non-parametric analysis revealed that the average knowledge level was significantly (p<0.05) higher with respect to higher age group, educational attainment, currently working status, and whose family income was high. On the other hand, oral hygiene practice level was significantly (p<0.05) higher among mother having higher education and higher family income. Mothers’ knowledge was significantly (p<0.05) and positively correlated with the practice behavior obtained by Pearson correlation coefficient. Conclusions The revealed that the knowledge and practices of mothers directly influence the oral hygiene behavior of children. Mothers with sound knowledge tend to exhibit positive practices concerning their children’s oral hygiene. These findings underscore the importance of taking necessary actions to enhance both the knowledge and practices related to oral hygiene among mothers, thereby ensuring the well-being of their children.