Assessment of Investment willingness by Parents in Primary Oral Health Care of Preschool Children in Sulaymaniyah Governorate: A Prospective Study

Sana Sulaiman Haji  Rasul; Aras Maruf  Rauf; Nasreen Hamarash  Hamonari

doi:10.56056/

Authors

Sana Sulaiman Haji Rasul BDS, Dental Public Health, Kurdistan Higher Council of Medical Specializations
Aras Maruf Rauf BDS, MSc, PhD, Assistant Professor, College of Dentistry /University of Sulaimani.
Nasreen Hamarash Hamonari BDS, MSC, PhD, Preventive Dentistry, College of Dentistry/University of Duhok

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56056/

Keywords:

Early childhood dental health, Parents, Primary dentition, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Willingness to invest in time, Willingness to pay

Abstract

Background and objectives: Preservation of the primary dentition is crucial for the overall health of children and the subsequent permanent teeth. Investment in primary dentition by families plays an important role in oral health promotion. The study aims to assess the willingness of parents to invest in the oral health of preschool children in the Sulaymaniyah governorate.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at different geographical locations in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, from January through July 2023. A structured questionnaire was distributed to be answered by three hundred sixty-eight parents. The questionnaire focused on the desire to invest money and time in preschool children`s dental health in addition to the demographic information, perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors of the participants that related to children's oral health.

Results: Despite their education, the 368 parents showed unwillingness to invest money (64.04%) in their children`s oral health in contrast to the investment in time by visiting dentist 1-2 visits/year (71.70%) and brushing teeth 1-3 min/day (60.90%). With p value= 0.271, This suggests that there are no significant associations between the education level of parents and willingness to pay, p value = 0.019 which is an indication of a statistically significant relation between investment in time and the education level of parents.

Conclusions: Parents with regular teeth brushing behavior showed a significant willingness for investment, yet, working on the upper stream to advocate this subject, and tackling parents` responsibilities about children’s oral health are needed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Peres MA, Macpherson LM, Weyant RJ, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur MR, et al. Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. The Lancet. 2019; 394(10194):249–60.

2. Van Spreuwel PCJM, Jerkovi?-?osi? K, Van Loveren C, Van der Heijden GJ. Parents’ willingness to invest in primary oral health prevention for their preschool children. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(21):11437.

3. Hooley M, Skouteris H, Boganin C, Satur J, Kilpatrick N. Parental influence and the development of dental caries in children aged 0-6 years: a systematic review of the literature. J Dent. 2012;40(11):873-85.

4. Chen KJ, Gao SS, Duangthip D, Lo EC, Chu CH. Randomized Clinical Trial on Sodium Fluoride with Tricalcium Phosphate. J Dent Res. 2020 Aug 31;100(1):66–73.

5. Tan SH, Vernazza CR, Nair R. Critical review of willingness to pay for clinical oral health interventions. J Dent. 2017; 64:1–12.

6. Postulart D, Dirksen C, Kessels A, Engelshoven van, Hunink M. A comparison between willingness to pay and willingness to give up time. Eur J Health Econ. 2008;10(1):81–91.

7. Tianviwat S, Chongsuvivatwong V, Birch S. Prevention versus cure: measuring parental preferences for sealants and fillings as treatments for childhood caries in Southern Thailand. Health Policy. 2008;86(1):64-71.

8. Walshaw EG, Adam NI, Palmeiro ML, Neves M, Vernazza CR. Patients’ and parents’ valuation of fluoride varnish in the UK and Brazil. Oral Health Prev Dent. 2019;17(3):211.

9. Vermaire JH, van Exel NJ, van Loveren C, Brouwer WBF. Putting your money where your mouth is: Parents’ valuation of good oral health of their children. Soc Sci Med. 2012;75(12):2200–6.

10. Berendsen J, Bonifacio C, van Gemert-Schriks M, van Loveren C, Verrips E, Duijster D. Parents’ willingness to invest in their children’s oral health. J Public Health Dent. 2018;78(1):69–77.

11. Lord J, Longworth L, Singh J, Onyimadu O, Fricke J, Bayliss S, et al. Oral Health Guidance – Economic analysis of oral health promotion approaches for dental teams. 2015.

12. Soares RC, Rosa SV, Moysés ST, Rocha JS, Bettega PVC, Werneck RI, et al. Methods for prevention of early childhood caries: Overview of systematic reviews. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2021;31(3);394-421.

13. Riggs E, Kilpatrick N, Slack-Smith L, Chadwick B, Yelland J, Muthu MS, et al. Interventions with pregnant women, new mothers, and other primary caregivers for preventing early childhood caries. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;2019(11):CD012155.

14. Opydo-Szymaczek J, Borysewicz-Lewicka M, Andrysiak K, Witkowska Z, Hoffmann-Przybylska A, Przybylski P, et al. Clinical consequences of dental caries, parents’ perception of child’s oral health and attitudes towards dental visits in a population of 7-year-old children. Int J of Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(11):5844.

15. Sanguida A, Vinothini V, Prathima GS, Santhadevy A, Premlal K, Kavitha M. Age and Reasons for first dental visit and knowledge and attitude of parents toward dental procedures for Puducherry children aged 0–9 years. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2019;11(Suppl 2): S413–S419.

16. Alduraywish SA, Altamimi LA, Aldhuwayhi RA, AlZamil LR, Alzeghayer LY, Alsaleh FS, et al. Sources of Health Information and Their Impacts on Medical Knowledge Perception Among the Saudi Arabian Population: Cross-Sectional Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(3): e14414.

17. Susarla SM, Trimble M, Sokal-Gutierrez K. Cross-sectional analysis of oral healthcare vs. general healthcare utilization in five low- and middle-income countries. Front Oral Health. 2022; 3: 911110.

18. Albasry Z, Alhaddad B, Benrashed MA, Al-Ansari A, Nazir MA. A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Dental Care Utilization Among Pregnant Women in Saudi Arabia. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019;7(23):4131–6.

19. Gaffar B, El Tantawi M, Al-Ansari A, AlAgl A. Association between oral health knowledge and practices of Saudi Pregnant women in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. East Mediterr Health J. 2016;22(6):411–6.

20. Park AH, Kulchar RJ, Susarla SM, Turton B, Sokal-Gutierrez K. Fewer Children in Families Associated with Lower Odds of Early Childhood Caries: A Sample from Three Countries. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(3):2195.

21. Berendsen J, Bonifacio C, van Gemert-Schriks M, van Loveren C, Verrips E, Duijster D. Parents’ willingness to invest in their children’s oral health. J Public Health Dent. 2017;78(1):69–77.