Oral health knowledge in parents of Saudi cerebral palsy children

Objectives: To determine oral healthknowledge in parents of cerebral palsy(CP) children, and the parents’ attitudeto oral health of their CP children.Methods: A self-administered questionnairewas utilized to collect the requiredinformation from the parents. Onehundred and six parents, 73 (68.9%)mothers, and 33 (31.1%) fatherscompleted the questionnaire betweenApril and June 2006 in Riyadh,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Results: All (100%) the parentsthought that good oral health wasimportant for maintaining optimumgeneral health. Most (95.3%) of theparents believed that they can maintaingood dental health in their CPchildren by supervising their children’stooth brushing, reducing sugary foodintake and making regular visits to adentist. A significantly high (p=0.005)percentage of high education parents(96.8%) had heard of fluoride ascompared with low education parents(79.5%).Conclusion: The overall oral healthknowledge and attitude of parents ofCP children is satisfactory.