Do maternal factors influence the dental health status of Nigerian pre-school children?

Objective. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between maternal related factors and the dental health status of pre-school children in Lagos State, Nigeria. Methods. A cross-sectional study of 404 pairs of mothers and their pre-school children was conducted at two selected primary health centres in Lagos State Nigeria. An interviewer administered questionnaire recorded the mother's socio-demographic characteristics and assessed her perception of her child's dental needs, attitude to oral disease prevention, level of dental health knowledge and attitude to oral health. The child's dental status was assessed using the dft index (caries status) and the simplified oral hygiene index. Data analysis tools included Spearman's correlation coefficient and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Maternal age, maternal education, location of residence, maternal knowledge, and attitudes were all positively correlated with the child's caries and oral hygiene status. There were statistically significant correlations between maternal attitude and the oral hygiene index (P = 0.01) and dft score (P = 0.001). Maternal age also had a significant relationship with the child's caries status (P = 0.003). Conclusion. This study concluded that maternal age and attitude were important determinants of caries experience whereas the mother's attitude was an important determinant of oral cleanliness in pre-school children in Lagos State Nigeria.