Mothers' false beliefs and myths associated with teething

Parental beliefs in and attitudes toward teething signs and symptoms: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Parents believe that teething is associated with signs and symptoms, which may induce them to give medications that could harm their children. Some children may require alleviation of symptoms and overall attention.

AIM

To assess parents' beliefs in and attitudes toward teething.

DESIGN

Through electronic databases and gray literature, this systematic review identified cross-sectional studies reporting parents' beliefs in, knowledge about, and attitudes toward the signs and symptoms of primary tooth eruption in children aged between 0 and 36 months. Three reviewers independently selected the studies, collected the information, assessed methodological quality, and checked for accuracy with disagreements solved by a fourth reviewer. The Agency of Research and Quality in Health questionnaire for cross-sectional studies was used for quality assessment. Descriptive analysis with median and interquartile ranges was adopted.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine studies comprising 10 524 participants from all geographic regions were included. The methodological quality of the studies was moderate. Most parents have beliefs in signs and symptoms during dentition, the most reported symptom being the desire to bite. Oral rehydration was the most exposed attitude in the studies included. Only a small proportion of parents reported no attitude.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of parents believed in at least one sign or symptom associated with teething, and only few of them would do nothing or just wait for the signs or symptoms to pass, with no difference among countries (Protocol doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/S2KZ3).

Evaluation of Some Dental Myths Among the Adult Population in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background To provide effective oral health care to patients and healthy individuals, it is critical to recognize prevalent myths. Most myths cause patients to follow the wrong protocol in dentistry, which can make treatment difficult for the dentist. This study aimed to assess dental myths among the Saudi Arabian population in Riyadh. Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Riyadh adults between August and October 2021. Saudi nationals aged 18-65 living in Riyadh without cognitive, hearing, or vision impairments and with limited or no trouble interpreting the questionnaire were surveyed. Only participants who consented to participate in the study were included. JMP Pro 15.2.0 was used to evaluate survey data. Frequency and percentage distributions were used for dependent and independent variables. The chi-square test evaluated the statistical significance of the variables, with a p-value of 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Results A total of 433 participants completed the survey. Half of the sample (50%) were aged 18-28; 50% were men; and 75% had a college degree. Higher-educated men and women did better on the survey. In particular, 80% of the participants believed "teething causes fever." "Placing a (pain killer) tablet on a tooth reduces pain" was believed by 34.40% of the participants, and 26% thought pregnant women should not get dental work. Lastly, 79% of the participants believed that "infants obtain calcium from their mother's teeth and bone." Most sources of these pieces of information were online (62.60%). Conclusions Nearly half of the participants believe in dental health myths, and as a result, people follow unhealthy practices. This results in long-term health consequences. The government and health professionals must prevent the spread of such misconceptions. In this regard, dental health education may be helpful. Most of this study's crucial findings are consistent with those of prior studies, indicating its accuracy.

Assessment of Maternal Knowledge and Practices Regarding Acute Diarrheal Illnesses in Children in Saudi Arabia: A Tertiary Care Center Survey

Background Diarrheal illness remains one of the most common causes of death among children specifically those who live in developing countries. Appropriate mothers' knowledge and practice regarding acute diarrhea illness in children can considerably reduce diarrhea-related morbidity and mortality. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate mothers' knowledge and practice regarding acute diarrheal illness in children. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using a newly developed questionnaire that was distributed to King Abdullah Specialist Children. The calculated sample size was 375. Results A total of 375 mothers were included in this study and the majority of them (99%) were Saudis. More than half of the participants (61%) were university graduates. The majority (96.5%) chose previous experience as the main source of information about diarrhea while (40%) chose physician. Most of the mothers (69.6%) believed that teething is the leading cause of diarrheal illness in children. Regarding the treatment, fluid was recognized to be the major treatment for diarrhea as chosen by the mothers. Around (42.7%) of the respondents thought intravenous fluid is more effective than oral rehydration solution (ORS) in treating dehydration associated with diarrheal episodes. ORS was the main type of fluid (74.1%) which was selected by the mothers to be given during the diarrheal episode. Conclusion Mothers showed good knowledge and practice overall in regard to acute diarrheal illness in children. However, this study revealed some misconceptions among the caregivers which necessitates more educational sessions to be conducted in the community and during the hospital visit.

Levels and correlates of knowledge of teething among Saudi Arabian families

Background

Parental knowledge of teething has been repeatedly investigated; however, little emphasis has been made on the associated sociodemographic factors with good knowledge of the parents and whether or not good knowledge is translated into adopting proper pain-relieving practices. The present study aims to firstly assess the knowledge level and practices of Saudi parents regarding teething and then explore associated sociodemographic variables with good knowledge of teething to determine the relation between parents' knowledge of teething and their adoption of pain-relieving practices.

Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited parents from the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and they were asked to answer a pretested three-part internationally accepted questionnaire. Data were examined using descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, multivariate logistic regression analysis, and Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient analysis.

Results

One thousand four hundred ninety-nine parents responded and returned completed questionnaires. Of those, only 11.2% had good knowledge of teething. The majority of parents did not have basic knowledge of the teething period as well as believed that teething was associated with a runny nose (87.5%), diarrhea (77.9%), and sleep disturbance (72%). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that parents with no primary school education (Odds Ratio: 0.29), or those who had an intermediate or secondary education level (OR: 0.55 and 0.78) were less likely to have good knowledge compared with parents who had a university degree. However, parents who earned intermediate monthly income (OR: 6.63) were more likely to have good knowledge of teething. With regards to practices used to relieve teething pain, inappropriate practices were observed regarding bottle feeding at night to soothe the child's pain (72%) and applying topical analgesics to rub the gum (72.4%). A significant positive correlation was found between the knowledge score and the practice score of both fathers and mothers (r = 0.22 and 0.13, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

A very low percentage of Saudi parents, mainly those with the highest education level and intermediate monthly income, had good knowledge of teething, which translated into appropriate practices to soothe the child's pain regardless of the parent's gender. Saudi parents should receive anticipatory guidance related to teething from all health professionals to ensure an uneventful teething period for their children.

A questionnaire-based study of Paediatric Dentists' knowledge of teething signs, symptoms and management

INTRODUCTION

Signs and symptoms attributed to erupting primary teeth are commonly known as "teething". Its existence is controversial with concern that overusing this term might mask other illnesses and some treatments may be unnecessary or harmful. Parents/carers can access over-the-counter remedies and may seek professional advice. This survey-based investigation explored gaps in knowledge, training, perceptions and experiences of UK Paediatric Dentists (PDs) regarding teething in young children.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study with a convenience sample of PDs with different training levels, accessed through the British Society for Paediatric Dentistry membership lists. A 10-item questionnaire explored participants' knowledge of teething-related issues and management. Responses are presented using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Of 80 responding PDs (response rate 27%), 62-74% suggested drooling, irritability, oral fixation and flushed cheeks were attributed to primary tooth eruption. Fifty-eight (72%) participants were unaware of guidelines, yet 53 (66%) felt guidance was needed.

CONCLUSION

Signs and symptoms of teething might mask underlying conditions so it should be a diagnosis of exclusion. PDs attributed similar signs and symptoms to teething, as have been reported in the literature, although some commented that they did not think teething was a condition. There was a lack of awareness over guidelines.