The relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and dental health knowledge and attitudes of parents with young children

Objective To determine if parental socio-demographic characteristics are associated with dental knowledge and attitude. Design A questionnaire survey of 500 consecutive parents with children aged approximately 8-months, attending clinics in 1999/2000, in Burnley,. Pendle and Rossendale, for health visitor distraction-hearing tests. Outcome measures Scores were obtained for dental knowledge and attitudes. The socio-demographic variables of parental ethnicity, age, education and area of residence were used to determine any associations. Results Parental age ranged between 16-46 years. Child age ranged between 7-11 months. Significant differences were detected for parental dental knowledge according to ethnicity (P = 0.003), educational status (P = 0.000), and area of residence (P = 0.016). Significant differences were also found in dental attitudes; ethnicity (P = 0.000), educational status (P = 0.004) and area of residence (P = 0.005). Parental age was not significant for either knowledge or attitude. Conclusions Lack of further education, being Asian and living in a deprived area means parents have less chances of high dental knowledge and positive dental attitudes.