Oral health is an important component of overall health and plays an important part in a child’s life. Dental caries is one of the world’s most serious oral health issues. Dental caries were once minimal in most developing nations, but it is currently on the rise. Oral caries pose substantial hazards to young children’s physical, psychological, and social well-being by causing dental discomfort and subsequent tooth loss, making eating, speaking, sleeping, and socializing difficult. Mothers, in particular, serve as the key model for behavior development. Children develop their first childhood routines and habits during their early years of life. As a result, developing fundamental excellent oral health behaviors is critical for establishing suitable dental standards that will be maintained into adulthood. Thus, assessing moms’ knowledge and practice may be the first step in identifying areas of weakness and attempting to improve behaviors.
Perceptions of dental health are about healthy teeth for several moms, the relationship between the quality of the child’s teeth and the influence on general health was obvious: ‘If your teeth are healthy, your entire health is better.’ Other advantages of having good teeth stated were the function that teeth play in eating, attractiveness, and consequent social advantage ‘I think they would be at a disadvantage if they had dreadful-looking teeth’, as well as financial gain. In 2015, the Indonesian Ministry of Health set a target of eliminating dental caries in Indonesian children aged 12 by 2030. The government, commercial sector, and society all supported this decision. The first step toward eradicating dental caries in Indonesia by 2030 is to focus on preventative measures for children’s tooth decay and oral hygiene. 76.8 percent of mothers with toddlers lacked adequate knowledge about their children’s dental and oral health, 84.1 percent lacked the necessary attitude, and 89.0 percent lacked the necessary action to maintain their children’s dental health in Ciputat and Pasar Minggu, Jakarta.
Purworejo Village in Wates, Blitar, is one of the “pre-prosperous” communities in Blitar (source: SLHD Blitar regency 2010 based on statistics from Women Empowerment and Family Planning of Blitar Regency). Because this town lacks a public health center, socialization about dental and oral hygiene among mothers and children is less than ideal. Thus, this report aimed to identify socio-cultural values in the field of health concerning the development and growth of oral health, as well as to reveal how to model knowledge about the health status of children’s oral cavity with an appropriate gender perspective for low-income communities in Blitar Rural Area, East Java.
This research looked at the behavior of mothers in Purworejo Village. The findings of the mother’s behavior on the oral and dental health of toddlers revealed that 81% need assistance, and 19% could be self-sufficient. Predisposing factors (beliefs, attitudes and behaviors, knowledge) were found to be present in 75% of the individuals but not in 25%. Despite not getting dental and oral health knowledge from the Public Health Center, maternal knowledge of dental and oral health of children in Blitar is good, comparable to 75%, owing to likely information gained from television.
Dental disorders in children are a serious problem, and mothers play an important role in their children’s oral hygiene habits. According to the findings of this exploratory study, mothers believe that professional dentist appointments are too expensive, that dental issues are unavoidable, and that they lack the time to fit dental practices in. Other mothers believed that there is an element of luck in dental caries and that a child’s oral health is connected to their overall health. These views have an influence on children’s oral hygiene routines. As a result, the goal is to include mothers’ perspectives in intervention programs in the hopes that changing these attitudes can enhance children’s dental habits. These findings also indicated the necessity for more investigation into this topic. This study has given researchers insight into mothers’ impressions of their children’s dental health, which might be utilized to create a survey to collect data from a broader sample. Because this study only interviewed mothers, more epidemiological research, including both parents, are required.
Author: Thalca Hamid, Satiti Kuntari
Complete link: http://www.jidmr.com/journal/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/35-D22_1716_Thalca_Hamid_Indonesia.pdf
