190 - Latino Parental Perceptions of Preschool Children’s Oral Health

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate Latino parental perception of their children’s oral health and to compare parental perception to provider diagnosed risk and presence of active caries.

Methods: Questionnaires were provided to parents of children aged 2 to 5 years presenting for recall or new patient examinations. Surveys consisted of 9 questions evaluating parental perception of their child’s caries risk, and their race, family immigration history, and language preferences.

Results: A total of 97 surveys were completed. Of parents surveyed; 86.6% identified as Hispanic or Latino, 4.1% Native American, and 9.3% Caucasian, and 48.4% of the patients spoke Spanish, 51.5% of the patients spoke only English. There was a significant association between provider diagnosed caries risk and both parent’s perception of the risk their child had caries (P=.012) and parent’s perception that their child will need treatment (P=.019). Provider diagnosis of active caries was associated with a parent perceiving their child to be at a higher caries risk (P=.003), at higher risk of having active caries (p < .001), and at a higher risk for needing treatment (P < .001). There was no significant relationship between race, immigration history or language in assessment of caries risk.

Conclusions:   Parents accurately assess their child’s caries risk, need for treatment and oral health. As patients with high caries risk develop more caries, and parents understand when their children are at high risk, continued research is needed to determine barriers between parental knowledge of poor oral health and implementation of preventive measures.