Mother’s Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Children’s Oral Care During Covid-19 Pandemic in Surabaya, Indonesia

Children under the age of 5 years old continue to have a high prevalence of dental caries in Indonesia. One of the risk factors is parental ignorance of oral health awareness. The status of children's oral health can be determined by the mother's good conduct. There are various behavioural changes regarding the maintenance of the children's dental health, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Aim: To assess mother's knowledge, attitude, and practice on children's oral care during Covid-19 pandemic. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted amongst 339 mothers who have children under 5 years old in Surabaya, Indonesia. An established OHKAP measurement tool was used in this study. Descriptive analysis, chi square test, and mcnemar test were performed. Results: Approximately, 82% mothers had low knowledge levels, 61% had poor attitude, and 52% had poor practice on their children's oral care during Covid-19 pandemic. There was a significant difference between the frequency of mothers who had knowledge on children's oral care before and during Covid19 pandemic with p-value < 0.001. Conclusions: Most mothers had low and poor KAP on their children's oral care during pandemic. A significant difference was found between knowledge frequency before and during Covid-19 pandemic.