Abstract
Objectives: To determine the oral health knowledge of caregivers and its relationship with the oral health status of children aged 3 to 6 years in a health center in a Peruvian sample.
Methods: An observational and cross-sectional study was designed in 70 children aged 3 to 6 years with their respective caregivers, who attended a health center in Lima, Peru. The CPOD/ceo-d and IHOS were recorded to evaluate the oral health status of the children, and a questionnaire validated by expert judgment was used to measure the caregivers' level of knowledge of oral health.
Results: 58.6% of the caregivers surveyed had a medium level of knowledge. Children's CPOD/ceo-d and IHOS were very low and good in 41.4% and 58.6% of the total evaluated, respectively. There were no statistical differences when the responses to each question of the questionnaire and sociodemographic characteristics were compared. In addition, there was no relationship between the oral health status of the children and the level of knowledge of the caregivers (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The children presented a good oral health status and the caregivers presented an average level of knowledge. There was no relationship between the level of knowledge of the caregivers and the oral health status of the children in the sample studied.
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