Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Fluoride, cilt.56, sa.4, ss.575-590, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
Reduction in dietary sugar consumption and the use of fluoride (F) form the basis of the fight against dental caries. Topical F applications are included in school health programs as part of protective oral health programs in some countries.This study is conducted to determine the frequency of fluoride varnish (FV) application among primary school children and reasons for parent refusal. FV records of children and a questionnaire self-administrated by parents were used for data collection in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected on 4th-grade primary school children attending public schools in one district of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, and their parents. Two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used in sample selection. 52.2% of the children were girls, and 87.7% of the parents were mothers. 26.3% of these children had FV applied. 29.6% of the parents taking part in the study brushed their teeth twice a day and toothpaste utilised by 26.1% of them contained F. 61.1% of them were unsure if their toothpaste’ had F content. 56.5% of the parents participating in the study did not know why F varnish was applied and 58.9% did not know whether the application was healthy or harmful. 29,0% of these parents thought it was healthy, while 12.1% thought it was harmful. The factors associated with giving consent to FV application were found to be the educational background of mothers and fathers (p=0.013 and p=0.007, respectively), fluoridated toothpaste usage of mothers (p=0.002), and the use of the internet as a source of information on oral health (p=0.035). In the logistic regression analysis, the refusal of FV application was found to be significantly higher among those failing to consult the teacher for information about FV, thinking that FV was harmful, and those unsure if it was healthy or not (OR=1.81, 22.89, 3.18, respectively). The study showed that parents' oral health practices/behaviors were poor, and their educational background and knowledge about F were related to the frequency of school based topical F application. This study has revealed that additional efforts are needed to expand F practice, and further research is required to identify the reasons underlying parents’ refusal of FV application. It has also shown that teachers of children play a key role in this process.