Knowledge about oral health among parents of schoolchildren receiving pit and fissure sealant in Ningbo city

Objective To examine oral health related knowledge among parents of primary schoolchildren in Zhenhai district of Ningbo city and to provide evidences for conducting oral health education in the chilren.Methods A self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out among 2014 parents and other caregivers of second-grade primary schoolchildren receiving pit and fissure sealant randomly selected from 9 schools from June to December,2013 in Ningbo city.Results Of all the schoolchildren selected,80.8% were mainly under the daily care of their mothers.For the parents surveyed,13.8% reported poor oral health status of their children.Based on the reporting of their parents,51.9% of the children took desserts at least once a day;23.7% drank cola and other carbonated drinks every day;74.8% took desserts or sweet drinks before going to bed;86.4% had teeth brushing at the ages of 3 to 5 years;and only 20.3% had teeth brushing twice a day.Of the parents surveyed,71.0% had basic oral health knowledge,but only 48.5% knew that pit and fissure sealant could prevent caries;52.5% acquied oral health knowledge through broadcasting or television;62.1% preferred to access knowledge from dentists.Conclusion The oral health status of schoolchildren receiving pit and fissure sealant is not good and education on oral health related behaviors and oral disease treatment should be promoted among both the schoolchildren and their parents to improve oral health in the children.