Conhecimento, atitudes e práticas dos cuidadores de crianças de 2 a 24 meses de idade em relação à higiene oral, no Centro de Saúde de Xipamanine

Abstract

Introduction: It is important that caregivers of children, especially those in the study (2 to 24 months of age), have knowledge about oral hygiene so that they can correctly assist children in maintaining adequate oral health. Objective: The present study evaluates the knowledge, attitudes and practices of caregivers regarding the oral hygiene of children aged 2 to 24 months attended at the healthy child consultation at the Xipamanine Health Center. Methodology: a cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out at the Xipamanine Health Center. Structured interviews were carried out with 108 caregivers who attended the health unit (weight curve) during the study period with children aged 2 to 24 months, graphs and frequency tables were generated for all study variables, for cleaning and for data analysis, the SPSS statistical package, version 24, was used. Results: Of the 108 caregivers received, 95.4% of caregivers were female, mean age was 29 years, 64.8% of caregivers had secondary education; 30.5% (33/108) caregivers of care considered necessary to clean the mouth of babies, 38% (41/108) of caregivers defend that children under 2 years old cannot get tooth decay; 85.2% of the caregivers had the habit of waking up the babies to breastfeed or give a bottle during the night; 63% of caregivers did not clean their children's mouths after breastfeeding; 37% (40/108) of caregivers gave their babies sweetened liquids at least once a day. Conclusions: The importance and concern for oral health begins to be realized after the appearance of deciduous teeth, and for children without teeth it is still deficient. However, despite some knowledge on the part of caregivers, it is still possible to identify gaps regarding attitudes and practices. There is a need for prenatal, family planning and maternity consultations to reinforce with mothers the need to clean their children's oral cavity even if they do not have erupted teeth.