Parent's attitudes and knowledge on oral health in a group of individual with Down syndrome in Turkey

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and attitude of families having some Down syndrome patient about problems related to oral cavity and dental health issues. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at Marmara University, Faculty of Dentistry in July 2017. Families of individuals with Down Syndrome, who are members of the Turkish Down Syndrome Association, were included in the study. A self-generated questionnaire was used to collect information in 3 different sections through 43 questions related to patient's socio-demographic and medical information, data on dental visit(s) and tooth-brushing. The questionnaire was sent to the families via the Internet. They were asked to return the completed questionnaires within a month. SPSS 22 was used to analyse data. Results: Of the 103 families, 25(24.27%) had never taken their children to a dentist; 12(11.65%) thought their children were too young, 6(5.82%) thought they would have difficulty in the dental environment, and 2(1.94%) could not find a suitable dentist. There was a statistically significant relationship between the oral and dental health and the tooth-brushing frequency (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the frequency of helping the children brush their teeth and the mean age (p<0.05). Conclusion: Parents of individuals with Down syndrome needed high-level information and guidance to take proper care of affected individuals.