When and Why Parents Seek Dental Care for Children under 36 Months

Luiz Evaristo Ricci Volpato1, Dafna Geller Palti, Jose Eduardo de Oliveira Lima

  • 1Master Program in Integrated Dental Sciences. University of Cuiaba, Cuiaba-MT, Brazil.

Insights

Parents primarily seek preventive dental care for infants, but curative treatment becomes more common after 30 months. The average first dental visit occurs around 15 months of age.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Infant preventive dental programs are crucial for early oral health.
  • Understanding parental motivations for initial dental visits is key.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the age of first dental visits for children under 36 months.
  • To identify parental reasons for seeking dental care for young children.

Main Methods:

  • A study of 844 children (0-36 months) in a baby clinic's oral health program.
  • Parents were surveyed about reasons for their child's first dental visit.
  • Reasons were categorized into prevention, treatment, trauma, and others.

Main Results:

  • Preventive reasons dominated dental visits for children aged 0-30 months.
  • Curative treatment became the primary reason for visits between 30-36 months.
  • Dental trauma was the third most common reason for seeking care.

Conclusions:

  • Children's dental visits show a predominantly preventive profile.
  • A significant number of parents still opt for curative over preventive dental care.
  • Early intervention and education are vital to promote consistent preventive dental habits.
Abstract

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