Vol. 11, Issue 4, Part D (2025)

Aim: To assess the awareness of mothers about the influence of maternal oral health, diet, oral hygiene maintenance and knowledge about feeding practices on primary dentition of their children.

Methods: A twenty-item close-ended questionnaire, consisting of eight items addressing maternal oral health, five items addressing maternal diet and oral hygiene practices and seven items addressing feeding practices and their basic demographic details was created and distributed among 200 mothers of children from 6 months to 4years. Responses to the questionnaire were tabulated. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (IBM corp., Armonk, USA, version 27). Chi-square test was performed for Parental oral health, maternal diet and oral hygiene maintenance during pregnancy and feeding practices questionnaire vs age and education. For all comparisons, p<0.05 considered to be statistically significant.

Results: Overall, the study findings indicate that while a reasonable proportion of participants had awareness regarding oral health, maternal diet and feeding practices, there is still a significant gap requiring further education and intervention. The highest awareness levels were observed in feeding practices (39.5%) followed by parental oral health (37.6%), while maternal diet and oral hygiene maintenance during pregnancy had the lowest awareness (23%).

Conclusion: These results emphasize the need for targeted oral health education programs, particularly for pregnant women and new mothers, to bridge the knowledge gap and improve both maternal and child oral health outcomes