Parental knowledge and attitudes regarding antibiotic use in pediatric dentistry: A cross-sectional study

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate parents' level of knowledge about antibiotic use and to assess its relationship with their children's oral health. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 805 children aged 3–14 years and their parents who presented to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the Faculty of Dentistry, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. In the first phase of the study, a face-to-face questionnaire consisting of four sections and 45 questions was administered to parents. The parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding antibiotic use were assessed using the Parental Perceptions on Antibiotics (ABANA) scale. In the second phase, the oral health status of the children was evaluated using the DMFT and PUFA indices. For statistical analyses, the Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Independent Samples t-test, and Spearman correlation test were used. A significance level of p<0.05 was considered for all analyses. Results: It was observed that parents with higher education levels, those working in the health sector, and those with higher income had higher ABANA scores (p<0.05). Parents whose children did not have a chronic disease, who had administered antibiotics to their children multiple times in the past year, and who had a higher number of children in the family showed lower ABANA scores (p<0.05). Furthermore, a statistically significant negative correlation was found between mean ABANA scores and the children's D, DMFT, P, F1, A, and PUFA indices (p<0.05). Children with a history of antibiotic use for toothache had significantly higher M, DMFT, P, F1, A, and PUFA scores (p<0.05). Parents who sought dental care even after symptoms resolved following antibiotic use had higher ABANA scores, and their children demonstrated better oral health status (p<0.05). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it was observed that as parents' knowledge and attitudes about antibiotic use improved, their children's oral health was positively affected. It is considered that educational and awareness programs promoting rational antibiotic use could make significant contributions to community oral and dental health. Keywords: ABANA, Antibiotic use in children, DMFT, Oral health, Parental knowledge and attitudes, PUFA