Oral health knowledge among parents and caregivers of children in a rural migrant community

Abstract

This study aimed to assess oral health knowledge among parents and caregivers in a rural migrant community and to examine the relationship between parents’ and caregivers’ level of education and their child’s oral health status. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample of 162 parents or caregivers who completed a structured, eight item questionnaire during their child’s initial dental visit. A group of ninety (n=90) participants completed the same questionnaire at a 3-month or 6-month follow-up visit. Children’s oral health status was assessed by dental hygienists using standardized clinical indices. The majority of participants were Hispanic (79.6%), with 11.1% reporting no formal education and 48.8% having less than high school education. Over half of the children (54.3%) were born outside the United States, and 63.6% of families were recent migrants. The mean age of the children was 5.35 years, with an average of 3.68 ± 4.05 decayed teeth in the primary dentition. Approximately 28% of children were identified as having urgent dental needs. A statistically significant association was found between parental education level and baseline oral health knowledge (p<0.007). Among those who completed both questionnaires, a paired sample t-test revealed a statistically significant improvement in oral health knowledge between the initial visit and the follow-up visit (p<0.001). Culturally and linguistically tailored dental health education delivered within a community dental outreach setting significantly improved parents’ and caregivers’ oral health knowledge in a high-risk migrant population. These findings support the implementation of targeted educational interventions to reduce oral health disparities among underserved children in rural migrant communities.