Mother’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Dental Caries And Oral Hygiene Among Children (Age 1 To 5 Years) in Civil Hospital, Karachi

Background: Dental caries is an infectious disease of teeth, which affects 60-90% of children worldwide between the ages of 2 to 11 years and mother is the major primary source of infection. The aim of this study is to determine knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers regarding oral hygiene and dental caries among children less than five years of age in Civil Hospital, Karachi Pakistan. Methods: A Cross sectional study was conducted among mothers in Civil Hospital, Karachi from June to December 2014. A total of 281 mothers were selected by using Consecutive sampling technique. Data were collected by using a semi structured pretested questionnaire. Factors related to knowledge, attitude and Practices regarding dental caries and oral hygiene were identified by applying logistic regression. Results: Majority (91.1%) of mothers had inadequate knowledge. Half (55.5%) of the mothers had positive attitude and 65% of mothers had improper practices. After adjusting socio demographic variables, the odds of inadequate knowledge among illiterate mothers were eight times (AOR=8.34, 95% CI 3.98-27.8) more as compared to literate mothers. The other factors showed significant association in multivariate analysis were negative attitude of mothers, household income <10,000 Pakistani rupees, improper practice of divorced/separated mothers as compared to married women. Conclusions: This study concluded that mother of children less than five years age had inadequate knowledge, negative attitude and improper practices towards dental caries and oral hygiene