COMPARISON BETWEEN PARENTAL PERCEPTION AND CLINICAL ASSESSMENT OF CHILD’S ORAL HEALTH IN HISPANIC COMMUNITIES

Abstract

Parents and children in rural Latino communities have disproportionately less access to oral health care than those living in urban or less rural areas. These parents are forced to rely more on their own perception to determine their child’s oral health status than that of a health professional. Only Latino parents and children ages 0 to 5 years from rural areas of North Carolina were asked to participate in the study. Rural, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, is a county with 9,999 residents or less.1 Data collection was conducted during three separate days at local churches and schools. Forty-eight surveys and clinical assessments were completed. Of the 48 parents, only 2% perceived that their child had poor oral health. However, more than 50% of the children had tooth decay or caries present, and of those with caries, 75% had tooth decay on 3 or more surfaces. Two of the children needed emergency/urgent dental care. Parents participating in the study underestimated dental disease in their children when compared to clinical findings. This misconception may have a direct effect on their child’s oral health since parents may forgo treatment if they are unaware of the issue. Given that early stages of dental disease may be asymptomatic, parents may only become aware of their child’s needs at more advanced stages; therefore, oral health prevention and early intervention programs are encouraged in this community. The goal of this community-engaged study was to understand parent’s perceptions of their child’s oral health compared to the results from the clinical assessment performed on those children by students at the ECU School of Dental Medicine.