Relationship between Caregivers' Oral Health Literacy and their Child's Caries Experience

Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between caregivers' oral health literacy (OHL) and the dental caries experience of their child. Participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 caregiver/child dyads at a paediatric dental centre in Saudi Arabia. The OHL was assessed using an Arabic translated version of Comprehensive Measure of Oral Health Knowledge (CMOHK-A) questionnaire. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency was assessed using the appropriate statistical methods. Main Outcome Measure: Childrens' dental caries experience was assessed using the DMFT and deft index (decayed, missing/extracted, filled teeth) for permanent and primal)/ teeth respectively. Results: The mean age of the caregivers and children was 37.9 +/- 7.9 years and 8.3 +/- 3.1 years respectively. Most children (87.7%) had dental caries experience (dmft > 0) and the mean DMFT/deft was 5.2 +/- 4.0. The means +/- standard deviations (SD) for untreated caries (DT/dt), missing/extracted teeth (MT/et) and filled teeth (FT/ft) were 2.6 +/- 2.5, 0.5 +/- 0.9 and 2.1 +/- 2.2 respectively. Multivariate linear regression models showed that caregivers> educational levels and OHL scores were associated with the child's untreated caries levels. Caregivers' gender, educational levels and their perception of the child's oral health were significant predictors for child's lifetime caries experience. Children of caregivers with low OHL had more untreated caries than children of caregivers with adequate OHL. Conclusion: This study found better caregiver OHL levels to be associated with lower caries experience for their child.