Comparative analyses of the computer aided presentation and brochure based information on the knowledge of mothers regarding the oral health status of their 0-3 years old children

Abstract

Objective: The healthy habits that are created by parents during infancy play an important role in preventing oral and dental health problems, which cause decreased quality of life in children. In this study, the purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of two different educational methods by providing oral and dental health training with computer-aided presentation (CAP) and Brochure-Based Information (BBI) methods for mothers who have 0-3 age group of children.Materials and Methods: A total of 90 mothers who had children between the ages of 0-3 participated in this study. Before the training, the participants were asked to fill in the questionnaire forms that contained information on their demographic characteristics and oral hygiene practice knowledge, and the Pre-test (PreT) questionnaire forms that consisted of 12 questions to measure the information levels on oral and dental health of the participants. The participants were asked the same questions again immediately after the training (PostT1), and 3 months later (PostT2). Comparisons were made between the two types of training in terms of PreT, Post, T1 and Post-T2 follow-up periods. Additionally, time-dependent changes were calculated for each group. The chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and McNemar test's were used during the statistical analyses. The p<0.05 level was considered significant in all analyses.Results: In the PreT, no differences were found between the groups (p>0.05). The CAP group participants were found to be more successful in Q3 and Q4 in the PostT2 (p<0.05). Moreover, BBI group participants were found to be more successful in the PostT1 for Q12 (p<0.05) and for Q2, Q5, Q11, and Q12 in the PostT2. In some questions, the time dependent responses also significantly altered the CAP and BBI results.Conclusion: It can be predicted that mothers have a lack of knowledge about the topics of the first dentist visit, early childhood caries and the use of fluoride toothpaste in children. The usage of the BBI method could have more successful outcomes in increasing the knowledge and awareness status of mothers compared to the CAP.