Abstract
The purpose of the “ Mother Class ” in Pedodontics is to make the parents understand the meaning of pedodontic treatment and the importance of children's oral health care over long periods of time. To make the "Mother Class" produce results, the mothers of children who visited at the Department of Pedodontics, School of Dentistry, Tokushima University from October 1977to December 1986 were asked about their knowledge of oral health care.
The results are summarized as follows:
1. During last ten years, the chiefcomplaint of dental caries decreased and that of malocclusion increased. There was an increase in the percentage of parents who selected the university hospital because of its specialization in pedodontics, and who expect not only caries treatment but also total oral health care with a recall system.
2. The caries initiation age did not change during the last ten years.
3. There was an increase in the percentage of zero-to-five-year old children who had a habit of brushing their teeth.
4. There was an increase in the percentage of zero-to-five-year old children who had experience in topical application of fluoride.
5. The percentage of parents who had knowledge of the methods of caries prevention increased, but about 35% of parents did not have this knowledge.
6. Only 76.2% of parents had a habit of brushing their teeth regularly.
7. About 30% of the mothers had attended lectures or studied by themselves. The lectures were at the oral health center, the university hospital and the private dental clinics. The means of study included books or television.
