Abstract:

Introduction:

Parents influence their children’s oral health by creating norms of behaviour. Their contribution is in the training and monitoring of oral hygiene habits, as well as the dietary behaviour of their children. It has been established that the parents’ oral health habits and knowledge have an impact on the oral health status of their children.

Material and methods:

150 parents of children from the experimental group undergoing the dental health promotion program took part in the study. During the program, didactic trainings for the parents were organized in the course of three weeks.

Aim:

The aim of the study was to establish the changes in the parents’ knowledge and skills regarding oral hygiene procedures, dietary habits and visits to the dentist in the course of the dental health promotion program for preschool children.

Results and discussion:

As a result of the trainings for parents carried out as part of the dental health promotion program for preschool children, significant improvement of own knowledge and changes in oral hygiene habits, healthy eating habits and visits to the dentist were observed.

Conclusion:

The findings showed the need for applying didactic methods to improve parents’ knowledge and habits. Due to the decisive factor they represent in developing proper oral health behavior of their children, it can be concluded that by using their own correct knowledge, they can achieve positive oral health results in their children more easily.