THE LEVEL OF MATERNAL KNOWLEDGE REGARDING MALOCCLUSION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

The prevalence of malocclusion among elementary school children in urban areas remains a significant oral health concern. Parental knowledge has been shown to play an important role in identifying and intervening in children's bad habits early on. A parent with good health literacy is better able to guide their child's behaviour and prevent oral growth disorders. This study aimed to analyze the association between mothers’ level of knowledge and the occurrence of malocclusion in their children. A cross-sectional design was employed involving 33 mother–child pairs of elementary school age. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire on mother’s knowledge about thumb-sucking habits and dental occlusion assessments to observe the occurrence of malocclusion using criteria of sagittal relationship, overjet, overbite, crossbite, and other relevant conditions. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test to determine the relationship between maternal knowledge and malocclusion. The results revealed a malocclusion prevalence of 63.6%, with most cases classified as Class I sagittal relationship (81.8%) accompanied by variations in overbite and overjet. The majority of mothers had a moderate level of knowledge (60.6%), while only 30.3% had good knowledge and 6.1% had poor knowledge. The Chi-square analysis indicated a significant association between mother’s knowledge and malocclusion (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Maternal knowledge level is one of the risk factors for malocclusion in children. Mothers with low to moderate knowledge levels are more likely to have children with a higher risk of malocclusion than mothers with good knowledge levels.