Evaluation of mothers’ awareness about the presence of first permanent molar teeth among the 6-8 year old children in Yasuj, Iran, 2016

BACKGROUND and AIM: First permanent molar teeth (FPMT) erupt slowly and without any side effects among the 6-8 year old children. Sweet snacks consumption, parents’ unawareness about existence of these teeth and lack of attention to oral health care cause early caries among children in these ages. First permanent molars (FPMs) have a very important role in oral cavity among children. Therefore, missing of these teeth causes serious mastication and dental problems. In the present study, mothers' knowledge on the presence of FPMs in their children’s mouth and its effect on health of these teeth were evaluated. METHODS: In this cross sectional study, 350 elementary school students of the 1st and 2nd grades and their mothers from Yasuj, Iran, were evaluated in 2015-2016. After sampling, questionnaires were used for data collection and were filled out by mothers. Then, each student was visited separately and the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index of FPMs was registered. Data were analyzed statistically using independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The results showed that the difference between mothers’ knowledge score about the presence of FPMs in their children’s mouth was not significant regarding their education level, occupation and age. The same result was obtained after evaluation of DMFT index of children’s FPMT. CONCLUSION: Mothers’ education about methods of dental caries prevention and protective oral health care is essential.