Effect Of Parental Education Level on Children Oral Health
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Oral health is a major component of child well-being, yet children living in low-income urban communities remain disproportionately affected by preventable dental disease because of poor access to care, low health literacy, and inadequate preventive practices. Objective: To assess the association between parental education level and oral health outcomes among school-aged children living in an underserved urban slum of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using anonymized data from 196 children aged 5 to 15 years who participated in a community dental outreach program. Parental education was assessed through structured interviews, while children underwent standardized oral examination using DMFT and DEFT indices, along with oral hygiene assessment. Descriptive statistics, chi-square testing, one-way ANOVA, and correlation analysis were applied. Results: The mean age of participants was 9.8 ± 2.4 years, with equal representation of boys and girls. Mean DMFT and DEFT scores were 2.86 ± 1.47 and 3.12 ± 1.68, respectively. Higher parental education was significantly associated with lower DMFT and DEFT scores, with the lowest caries burden observed in the higher-education group. Parental schooling showed a moderate inverse correlation with DMFT score (r = -0.42, p < 0.001). Maternal education was also significantly associated with improved brushing frequency, fluoride toothpaste use, parental supervision, and annual dental visits. Conclusion: Higher parental, particularly maternal, educational attainment was associated with better oral hygiene practices and lower caries burden among children, underscoring the value of caregiver-focused oral health education in underserved populations.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
1. Minervini G, Franco R, Marrapodi MM, Di Blasio M, Ronsivalle V, Cicciù M. Children oral health and parents education status: a cross sectional study. BMC Oral Health. 2023;23(1):787.
2. Chen L, Hong J, Xiong D, Zhang L, Li Y, Huang S, et al. Are parents’ education levels associated with either their oral health knowledge or their children’s oral health behaviors? A survey of 8446 families in Wuhan. BMC Oral Health. 2020;20(1):203.
3. Fu D, Shu X, Zhou G, Ji M, Liao G, Zou L. Connection between oral health and chronic diseases. MedComm. 2025;6(1):e70052.
4. Dumitrescu R, Sava-Rosianu R, Jumanca D, Balean O, Damian LR, Fratila AD, et al. The impact of parental education on schoolchildren’s oral health—a multicenter cross-sectional study in Romania. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(17):11102.
5. Ardérius A, Veiga N, Godinho M, Ribeiro C. The influence of parents' educational level in children's oral health behavior. Public Health Res. 2015;5(1):28-31.
6. Pratamawari DNP, Atikasari D, Bramantoro T. The effect of parents' socioeconomic factors on their willingness to take care of their children's oral health in early childhood. J Int Dent Med Res. 2022;15(2):845-9.
7. Agnese CCD, Schöffer C, Kantorski KZ, Zanatta FB, Susin C, Antoniazzi RP. Periodontitis and oral health-related quality of life: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Periodontol. 2025;52(3):408-20.
8. Alamoudi RM, Showlag RA, Almujil NJ, Alzahrani AM, Aladwani WI, Alboeid AA, et al. The impact of parental oral health behaviors on the oral health of children. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2023;10:4451-6.
9. Eaton K, Yusuf H, Vassallo P. The WHO global oral health action plan 2023-2030. Community Dent Health. 2023;40(2):68-9.
10. Iacob AM, Escobedo Martínez MF, Barbeito Castro E, Junquera Olay S, Olay García S, Junquera Gutiérrez LM. Effects of vape use on oral health: a review of the literature. Medicina (Kaunas). 2024;60(3):365.
11. Moin M, Maqsood A, Haider MM, Asghar H, Rizvi KF, Shqaidef A, et al. The association of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors with the oral health status in school-age children from Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11.
12. Chandio SM, Chandio AM, Ali I, Soomro N, Parveen R, us Salam M. Effect of parental education, occupation and socioeconomic status on dental caries in adolescents. J Peoples Univ Med Health Sci Nawabshah. 2021;11(1):48-53.
13. Khalid T, Mahdi SS, Khawaja M, Allana R, Amenta F. Relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and oral hygiene indicators in private and public schools in Karachi: an observational study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(23):8893.
14. Yousaf M, Aslam T, Saeed S, Sarfraz A, Sarfraz Z, Cherrez-Ojeda I. Individual, family, and socioeconomic contributors to dental caries in children from low- and middle-income countries. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(12):7114.
15. Zehra H, Kabir R. Systematic review on oral health knowledge, practice and attitude in Pakistan. Asian J Public Health Nurs. 2024.
16. Seemi T, Sharif H, Sheikh SS, Hassan N. Oral health status among children and adolescents of slums of Karachi, Pakistan: a multicenter cross-sectional study. J Prim Care Dent Oral Health. 2024;5(3):104-12.
17. Ali O, Ahmad S, Qadeem F, Pasha F, Shahid M, Qazi HS, et al. Oral health knowledge and attitude among caregivers of special health care needs children at special education schools in Peshawar: a cross-sectional study. J Khyber Coll Dent. 2025;15(01):20-5.
18. Qazi HS, Nazir U, Nisar H, Ali O, Babar P, Ahmad S. Effect of comprehensive dental treatment under general anaesthesia on children's oral-health-related quality of life: a comparative cross-sectional study. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2024;36(1):135-9.
19. Shams M, Bhamani S, Sheikh S, Aslam K, Rehman A, Raza A. Exploring oral health knowledge and practices among early childhood caregivers: a cross-sectional survey. Acad Educ Soc Sci Rev. 2024;4(2):174-83.
20. Siddiqui F, Tanwir F, Zaidi SN, Hafeez N, Ullah R, BiBi T. Frequency of early childhood caries and associated factors in a low income urban community of Karachi. Ann Abbasi Shaheed Hosp Karachi Med Dent Coll. 2024;29(1).
21. Shahid F, Pervaiz F, Habib MF, Masood M, Naseem A, Mahmood H. Evaluation of oral health status and dietary habits in school children among age 12-14 years: a cross-sectional study. Pak J Health Sci. 2024:17-22.
22. Syed S, Azam I, Jamalvi WA, Khan FR, Saleem AF, Tikmani SS. Association of iron deficiency anemia with dental caries in the permanent first molars of children aged 7-12 years in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan: protocol for an analytical cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2025;15(1):e092312.
23. Lietz P. Research into questionnaire design: a summary of the literature. Int J Mark Res. 2010;52(2):249-72.
24. Paul A, Birol T. Applications of DFT+DMFT in materials science. Annu Rev Mater Res. 2019;49(1):31-52.
25. Cacciattolo M. Ethical considerations in research. In: The Praxis of English Language Teaching and Learning (PELT) Beyond the Binaries: Researching Critically in EFL Classrooms. Rotterdam: SensePublishers; 2015. p. 61-79.
26. Hinton PR, McMurray I, Brownlow C. SPSS explained. London: Routledge; 2014.