“A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO ASSESS THE LEVEL OF
KNOWLEDGE REGARDING EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES
AMONG WORKING AND NON WORKING MOTHERS OF 1-5
YEARS OF CHILDREN IN SELECTED AREAS,BANGALORE.

MS. CHINCHU JOSEPH, MS. UMAMAHESWARI.N*
Page No. 36-40

Early childhood caries is the most common chronic disease in young children and may develop as
soon as teeth erupt. Parents’ literacy in oral health is an important factor contributing to the overall
health of children. Parental knowledge about infant oral health was found to be lacking in the study.
The factors associated with decreased knowledge among primary caregivers of children include low
socioeconomic status, lack of further education, and high caries status in the children. However,
oral health specific self-efficacy and knowledge measures are potentially modifiable cognitions and
interventions can lead to healthy dental habits. Objectives: 1. to assess the level of knowledge of
working and non-working mothers of 1-5 years of children.2. To compare the level of knowledge of
working and non-working mothers of 1-5 years of children. 3. To associate the level of knowledge
of working and nonworking mothers of 1-5 years of children with their selected demographic
variables.Methods: A descriptive design with quantitative approach was used for the study. Data
were collected by structured questionnaire from 60 working and nonworking mothers. The collected
data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics Result: 98.3% of working and
non-working mothers have moderate knowledge about early childhood caries.1.7% of working
mothers have adequate knowledge where as 1.7% non-working mothers have inadequate
knowledge.57.82% of working mothers and 47.82%of non-working mothers have adequate
knowledge about early childhood caries.The result shows that there is a significant association
between the working mothers level of knowledge with selected demographic variables such as age
x2= 5.00(s); type of family x2=7.88; monthly family income x2=7.85; limitation of sweet
consumption x2= 5.65 and there is no significant association between the non-working mothers
level of knowledge with demographic variables.Conclusion: Finding of the study showed that
working mothers have more knowledge than non-working mothers.
Keywords : Early childhood caries,Working mothers, Non-working mothers