Pediatric Oral Health Literacy Among Caregivers of Young Children

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common dental condition that affects the primary teeth of infants and young children. ECC can have a significant negative impact on a child’s oral health and overall well-being. Caregivers have an important role in the prevention of early childhood caries through knowledge, understanding, and awareness of good oral hygiene practices. Caregivers who possess adequate oral health literacy (OHL) may be more likely to recognize the risks associated with ECC, implement proper oral hygiene practices, and make informed oral health choices for themselves and their child. The overarching purpose of this dissertation is to explore the OHL of caregivers of young children. Three interrelated projects were conducted to determine the disparities in OHL among caregivers of young children. The first project, a systematic review, investigated current inventories used to measure OHL among caregivers of preschool-aged children. Through qualitative analysis, the second project examined caregivers' comprehension of the terms "decay" and "cavities" and utilized a comprehensive OHL inventory. The third and final project examined the effectiveness of an educational intervention on pediatric dental term recognition and knowledge levels among low-income caregivers. The systematic review revealed that most current caregiver oral health literacy studies focus on dental word recognition, with only a few measuring knowledge and comprehension. Project II included qualitative data from a comprehensive pediatric OHL inventory and indicated that disparities exist in caregivers' comprehension of common oral health terms like "decay" and "cavities." Project III showed that an educational intervention did not improve pediatric dental term knowledge among low-income caregivers of young children.