Knowledge and beliefs about oral health among mothers of children and teenagers who attend a Dentistry faculty

• Grant number: 20/10705-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Social and Preventive Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Elaine Pereira da Silva Tagliaferro
• Grantee: Ludmyla Noronha de Morais
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this project will be to investigate the knowledge and beliefs about oral health among mothers of children and teenagers. This is an observational, cross-sectional study, based on the application of a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire, to mothers (n = 200) of children and teenagers who attend the clinics of a dental school at a public university. The variables studied will be socioeconomic (ethnicity, age, family income, education, goods and household), reported oral morbidity (toothache, need for dental treatment), use of services (frequency, reason, location and quality of dental appointments) , knowledge about oral health (definitions, brushing, prevention, importance and guidance), self-perception of oral health (satisfaction), beliefs (discernment of myths and truths) and personal values. Data collection will be performed by applying the questionnaire to mothers in the waiting rooms of the clinics as well as in the college entrance hall. The response variables will be knowledge and beliefs in oral health. The data will be analyzed in a descriptive way, with absolute and relative frequencies, as well as through association tests, adopting a significance level of 5%.