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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.
Background:
The aim was to analyze an infant preventive program determining at what age parents take their children for their first dental visit and the reasons why they do it.
Materials & Methods:
A total of 844 children aged from 0 to 36 months, enrolled in the program of oral health maintenance of the Baby Clinic, participated in this study. During the first dental visit, the parents were inquired about the reasons that led them to enroll their children in the program. One trained investigator identified this reasons on the records and classified them according to the following scores: orientation/prevention, caries treatment, malpositioned teeth, dental trauma, tooth color alterations and others.
Results:
Orientation/prevention was the most prevalent reason from 0-6 months to 25-30 months of age, and at the age 30-36 months, the reason caries/treatment overcame orientation/prevention, becoming the most prevalent reason in that age group. The third place was occupied by dental trauma. The mean age parents seek for dental care to their children was 14, 92 months.
Conclusion:
This study showed a preferentially preventive/educational profile for the children. However, lots of parents still take children to the dentist preferentially for curative instead of preventive treatment. How to cite this article: Volpato LE, Palti DG, Lima JE, Machado MA, Aranha AM, Bandeca MC, Pedro FL, Borges AH. When and Why Parents Seek Dental Care for Children under 36 Months. J Int Oral Health 2013; 5(4):21-25.
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