Parental awareness and oral health behaviors related to early childhood caries in eastern Uttar Pradesh: A cross-sectional survey.

AIM: Early childhood caries (ECC) remains a major public health concern, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to assess parental knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAPs) regarding ECC and to evaluate its association with sociodemographic factors.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among parents attending a district hospital in Eastern Uttar Pradesh with children aged ≤71 months. A structured, pretested questionnaire comprising sociodemographic details and KAP domains (eight knowledge, five attitude, and five practice items) was administered. After excluding incomplete responses, 375 out of 377 recruited participants were included in the final analysis.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics and KAP scores. Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Since the data were not normally distributed, the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for univariable comparisons. Spearman's correlation assessed relationships among KAP domains, and multiple linear regression with robust standard errors identified independent predictors. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The mean knowledge score was low (0.81 ± 0.98), while attitudes were moderately positive (2.89 ± 0.79). Practice scores were relatively higher (3.15 ± 0.53). Income showed a significant association with knowledge scores ( P < 0.001) and remained an independent predictor in multivariable analysis, whereas no significant associations were observed for attitude or practice scores.

CONCLUSION

Parents demonstrated limited knowledge but positive attitudes toward ECC, while preventive practices were inconsistently followed. These findings highlight the need for targeted oral health education and structured parental counselling programs to strengthen preventive behaviors and enhance effective ECC prevention.