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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Health and Allied Sciences NU 2022; 12(04): 448-453
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1743518
Original Article

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Parents toward Pediatric Dental Radiography

Sanjna K. Sreenivasan
1   Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Nikita Lolayekar
1   Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Priyal Sheth
1   Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Dipasha Rao
1   Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences, Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India
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Abstract

Background Pediatric dental radiography is a field with numerous uses as well as concerns regarding radiation safety. This study was undertaken to assess the knowledge that parents have regarding the same. This questionnaire survey was conducted with the aim of assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents toward pediatric dental radiography.

Material and Methods In total, 280 questionnaires were answered by parents of children visiting the Pediatric Dental Department. The first 10 questions served to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of parents toward pediatric dental radiography. The last three questions were designed to assess the practices of parents in relation to dental radiography and protective gear. The answers were collected and analyzed.

Results From the survey it was seen that most parents were aware that the harmful effects from dental radiography were minimal (51%). A fairly significant number of parents lacked the knowledge regarding the harmful effects of dental radiography in children compared to adults (63%), in comparison to the harmful effects from cell phones (66%) and in comparison to harmful effects of medical radiography (42%). A fair number of parents seemed to be aware of the detrimental cumulative nature (47%) of radiation. It was found that a large number of parents do not ask for an explanation regarding the need for the dental radiograph for their children before the dental treatment (50%). Most parents (64%) were not aware of the availability of protective gear and very few (16%) requested for it.

Conclusion The parents considered in this study had appreciable knowledge and a positive attitude toward dental radiography. However, a significant lack of knowledge regarding protective gear used for dental radiography among these parents was identified from this study.

Keywords

radiography - pediatric dentistry - parents - knowledge


Publication History

Article published online:
21 April 2022

© 2022. Nitte (Deemed to be University). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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