Level of knowledge of mothers about the importance and care of the primary dentition

Abstract

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with the use of quantitative and qualitative techniques with socio-critical analysis. A total of 77 females took part in it, in the period from March 2009 to 2010. They belonged to the Ramón Pando Ferrer Polyclinic, in Santa Clara, Villa Clara. The study was conducted in order to explore the level of knowledge of mothers on the importance and care of the primary dentition, for which a questionnaire was made with five questions –one open question and four closed questions– and the following indicators were taken into account: knowledge about the age of eruption and exfoliation of primary dentition, and importance of the primary dentition and knowledge and behavior (or both) for the prevention of early loss of primary teeth. Each question was given a value resulting from the sum of the values given to each item that composes it. The sum of the values of the questions was 100 points and was taken into account to determine the level of knowledge: it was considered a high level from100 to 85 points, medium level from 84 to 69 and low level 68 or less. The questionnaire was provided directly to mothers at the pregnancy and dentistry consultations, and also in the field. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were used for data collection, which allowed obtaining information by different procedures and sources. It turned out that a low knowledge level predominated in the study population with 96.1%. It is recommended to design strategies and actions to meet identified learning needs, and to develop support materials to serve as a support to them.