Attendance patterns and dental health of parents and children.

Questionnaires were posted to the parents of 293 5-year-old children who had been dentally examined at school in Stretford, Manchester, UK. Replies were received from 195 addresses and consisted of 182 mothers and 149 fathers. The mothers who replied were divided into three groups; 99 who reported that they attended the dentist for regular check-ups, 38 who went for occasional check-ups and 45 who only went when having trouble. The mean numbers of decayed teeth of their children were 0.92, 1.50 and 2.00 respectively (p < 0.05) and the mean dmft scores were 1.36, 2.05 and 2.69 (p < 0.05). Fifty children whose mothers reported having 25 teeth or less had a mean of 2.12 decayed teeth compared with 1.06 for 125 children whose mothers had 26 teeth or more (p < 0.01). The mean dmft scores for the two groups were 2.68 and 1.59 respectively (p < 0.05). In contrast, dividing the children into groups based on reported attendance patterns and numbers of natural teeth of their fathers did not show any significant differences in decayed teeth or dmft scores. It is concluded that the dental attendance pattern and dental health of the mother, but not of the father, are important influences on the dental health of 5-year-old children.