Influence of mother’s educational level towards oral health habits, attitudes and knowledge among rural school children in Neo capital region of Andhra Pradesh- A cross- sectional study

Oral health knowledge is considered to be an essential prerequisite for health-related behaviour. It has been shown that, in comparison to their western counter parts, Indian children are less conscious of and practice good oral dental hygiene. The aim of the study is to assess the influence of mother education on oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of school children. A cross-sectional, multilocality, school children-based study was conducted from December 2022 to March 2023 in Chebrolu Mandal. Global monitoring age group was chosen with the goal of using the baseline data gathered to create school oral health activities in the future. A one-way ANOVA, a Pearson correlation test, and the chi-square test were employed; a p-value of less than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Children declared that 64.3% (n=531) of their father and only 9% of mothers (n=74) belonged to secondary education; where 17.1% (n=141) of their mothers are illiterate. Gender differences in mean oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice scores revealed that girls had higher knowledge (16.43), and practice (17.04) scores than boys. Despite parents' education, children demonstrated greater awareness and satisfactory oral hygiene practices, according to the study's findings.In an effort to prevent and control dental problems, there should also be a greater emphasis on oral health education in the curriculum. Key Words Children, Education, Knowledge, Mother, Oral health