OUR LADY OF CAYSASAY ACADEMY

Integrated School
Taal, Batangas, Philippines

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Parental Oral Literacy and Children’s Oral Health Status

in Lemery and Taal

STEM - Grade 12 - St. Barachiel

Alvaran, Raphael Marco M.

Beredo, Kathleen Allysa V.

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 CHAPTER 1

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Introduction

Discuss the current situation related to your topic. Then, discuss the

conflict which led you to conduct this study.

As people grow up, they spend most of their time learning from the actions

and teachings of their parents. The oral health is one of the most important things

that everyone should maintain healthy in their everyday living. Maintaining a

good oral health does not simply help a person to be at low risk of dental cavities

or gum diseases, it also helps a person to save money and have a proper

hygiene. According to World Health Organization, dental cavities and gum

disease are very common. There are many ways to reduce dental cavities. That

is why having an acceptable level of oral health literacy would be great. The

Dentist does not only provide oral health care treatments, but they are also the

one who teaches their patients on how to effectively take care of them. It means

that the Dentist have a big role in increasing the oral health knowledge of their

patients which could help in improving the oral health literacy. But the present

status of dental visitation has become difficult. Clinics became harder to

approach because of the countermeasure that they do against the Covid-19.

Furthermore, mass gatherings are strictly prohibited that is why the free dental

programs cannot be done for those who are in need of it.

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 The community that the people are now living in is in a state of confusion

and restriction. The freedom of dental services has become stricter due to the

safety guidelines that the Philippines Dental Association (PDA) implemented.

Just like any other clinics, only those who are in need of the dental treatment are

allowed to be entertained. And because the children aren’t allowed to go outside

specifically to the dentists, there is of no way that the dentists would be able to

help them. Since the children cannot visit their dentists, the parents are expected

to be the one who will teach them the proper way of taking care their oral health.

Yet, there are still a lot of young children who has dental caries/cavities even

though they are guided by their parents.

The problems arising in the oral health of the children are highly

influenced by the quality of maintenance they do to keep it clean. Children with

poor oral health are more likely to miss school and earn poorer marks than those

who do not. This was according to study of Centers for disease control and

prevention (CDC). Since the parents are the ones who are teaching the children

of proper oral hygiene when they are at home, then the level of oral health

literacy of the parents would affect the oral health status of the children. A study

that was conducted by Sérigne Dieng (2020) showed that the high level of Oral

Health Literacy (OHL) of the Mother affected the oral health of the children by

having a low prevalence of dental caries. The chosen mother and children were

from Senegal in which there is a very limited dental care available. Jagan Kumar

Baskaradoss (2018) describes Health literacy as a strong predictor of an

individuals’ health, health behavior and health outcomes. In this study (Oral

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Health Literacy and the Oral Health status of the chosen patients), it showed that

those with limited OHL are more prone to tooth loss and severe Periodontitis

than those who have an adequate score.

Another similar study shows that the low OHL of the caregiver is

associated with the high risk of dental caries of the children. This study however,

stated that there may be a lot of topics about Health Literacy but not Oral health

literacy especially in Iran, the need of this study was important to be able to make

a necessary action to the problem (E. Khodadadi, A. Niknahad, M. Sistani and M.

Motallebnejad 2016).

Since a study about OHL in the Philippines is very rare, it would be a

great study. The OHL has been subjected to little attention in dentistry until the

last decade. It is essential to improve individuals’ OHL to reduce oral health

problems and produce better oral health outcomes in the community (A. Adil, S.

Eusufzai, A. Kamruddin, W. M. Ahmad, N. Jamayet, M. Karobari and M. Alam

2020). But according to the study of limited health literacy was associated with

worse parental OHS and worse POQL (Pediatric Oral health-related Quality of

Life), it is not significantly related to OHS of children. Which means that there is

still a relationship between the two variables but they would not cause a

significant change to the dependent variable.

Since there is the danger of Covid-19, children are prohibited to go to the

dentists because they do not pass the requirement set by the PDA. That is why it

would be a big help to know the present status of the oral health of the children.

Studies that talk about the oral health literacy in the Philippines is very scarce

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that is why this study is needed. The problem of this study needs to be

addressed with a proper output that would at least improve the OHL and OHS of

the chosen respondents.

The study will tackle the parent’s oral health literacy and the children’s oral

health status in Taal and Lemery. The parents are more experience and

knowledgeable about oral health than those young people, they have the task to

educate proper dental hygiene to their own children. That is why the researchers

aims to identify how the level oral health literacy of the parents affects the oral

health status of the children.

Conceptual Framework

The research conducted is entitled " Mothers' oral health literacy and

children's oral health status in Pikine, Senegal" the study says that Children's

oral health in Africa follows a social gradient similar to that of children in most

other parts of the world. According to the authors, family determinants affecting

children's oral health are mediated by psychosocial factors, which in turn

influence attitudes and behavior related to oral health, particularly among

mothers. Parents have a limited understanding of their children's oral health and

preventive actions. The study included 315 children aged from 3 to 9 years old.

According to the study, the frequency of dental caries in children was 64.8 %.

Caries free children and a low frequency of dental caries are linked to mothers'

excellent oral health literacy. It was concluded that Senegalese mothers' oral

health literacy was strongly related to their children's dental caries. Improving

mothers' oral health literacy might assist in enhancing their capacity to promote

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oral health, therefore improving their children's dental health and reducing

disparities.

The present study is anchored on the said study. Both studies aim to

identify the relationship between parental oral health literacy and children’s oral

health status.

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 Parental Oral Children’s Oral
Health Literacy Health Status

Dental
Educational
Video
Figure. 1.0
Research Paradigm

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Paradigm of the Study

Figure 1.0 shows the conceptual paradigm of the study. The box at the left

represents the independent variable of the study, parental oral health litereacy.

The box at the right represents the dependent variable, the children’s oral health

status, and the third box at the lower middle represents the proposed output

which is the dental educational video.

Statement of the Problem

This study assessed the Parental Oral Health Literacy and Children’s Oral

Health Status in Lemery and Taal as basis for proposed dental educational

video.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of the oral health literacy of the parents?

2. How do the parents assess the oral health status of their children?

3. Is there significant relationship between the Parental Oral Health

Literacy and the children’s oral health status?

4. How can the proposed dental educational video output be devised to

assess the parental oral health literacy and improve oral health status of their

children?

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Hypothesis of the Study

1. There is no significant relationship between the parental oral health

literacy and oral health status of their children.

2. There is no significant difference between the parental oral health

literacy and oral health status of their children.

Scope, Delimination and Limitation of the Study

The study is focused on the level of oral health literacy of the parents and

the oral health status of their children in Taal and Lemery, Batangas as a basis in

developing an educational video.

The study would need the parents of the children that is 3-9 years old

within the Taal and Lemery areas since they would provide a more accurate

response than the children. There would be 100 parents that would be

specifically chosen as a respondent. The data gathering instrument that the

researchers would use in measuring the OHL of the parents would be the oral

health literacy- adult questionnaire (OHL-AQ). On the other hand, the data

gathering instrument that they would use for measuring the OHS of the children

would be the Decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT). The researchers

gathered the needed information through different digital libraries and internet

websites.

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 The study will solely focus on the Oral health literacy level and oral health

status. Thus, it would not look further into assessing the complicated diseases

like oral cancers and oral manifestations of HIV in the oral health of the children.

Significance of the Study

This study ensures to establish full understanding about the relationship

between the Parental Oral Literacy and Oral Health Status of the children. This

research study was done and mainly focused to parents as respondents of the

study. Furthermore, the results of the study can benefit the following:

Parents. The study will help the parents to understand how important

having a Oral knowledge. They will also be aware of what is the status of the oral

health of their children. By this, it will help them to realize to have more

understanding in oral health and maintain good oral health hygiene in the family.

Children. The study will help the children to know what is the status of

their teeth. It will give them knowledge how to maintain good oral hygiene and if

parents oral literacy affects their oral health status.

Future Researchers. The result of the study can serve as basis of further

studies on oral health topics. It will be helpful for them to have a good source of

accurate and useful information for their future research study.

Definition of Terms

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 For clearer understanding of the study, important terms are hereby

defined conceptually and operationally.

Oral Health Literacy. Is the degree to which individuals have the

capacity to obtain, process and understand basic oral health information and

services needed to make appropriate health decisions (Healthy People, 2010). In

this study, it was defined as the knowledge and skills of a person to make a

change in the oral health status.

Oral health status. as a standard of health of the oral and related tissues,

which enables an individual to eat, speak and socialize without active disease,

discomfort, or embarrassment and which contributes to general well-being. (A.

Singh, R. Gambhir, S. Singh, V. Kapoor, & J. Singh, 2014). In this study, it was

defined as the state of the teeth whether it is free from dental caries.

Dental caries. Is a chronic and multifactorial disease, and currently

remains the most prevalent disorder of childhood (E. Fleming & J. Afful, 2018). In

this study, it was described as the one that makes the teeth decayed, filled, or

missing.

Periodontitis. Is the inflammation of the supporting structures of the teeth

and especially the periodontal membrane (Merriam Webster). In this study, it was

a replacement for the word gingivitis which is a stage one process for gum

disease.

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 Oral Hygiene. The practice of maintaining the mouth clean and healthy by

brushing and flossing to prevent tooth decay and gum disease (A. Subait, M.

Alousaimi, A. Geeverghesea, A. Ali and A. Metwally, 2016). Operationally, it is

necessary to have a good understanding and attitude toward oral health in order

to practice healthy dental practices.

Bibliography

E. Khodadadi, A. Niknahad, M. Medi Naghigi Sistani and M. Motallebnejad,

(2016), Parents’ Oral Health Literacy and its Impact on their Children’s

Dental Health Status, 8(12): 3421–3425. doi: 10.19082/3421. Retrieved

from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5279976/

R. Targino Fimino, F. Morais Ferreira, C. Castro Martins, A. Flavia Granville-

Garcia, F. Calixton Fraiz and S. Martins Palva, (2018), Is parental oral

health literacy a predictor of children's oral health outcomes? Systematic

review of the literature, doi: 10.1111/ipd.12378. Retrieved from

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29984431/

A. Habeeb Adil, S. Zabin Eusufzal, A. Kamruddin, W. Muhamad Amir Wan

Ahmad, N. Bin Jamayet, M. Isaqali Karobari and M. Khursheed Alam,

(2020), Assessment of Parents’ Oral Health Literacy and Its Association

with Caries Experience of Their Preschool Children, 7(8), 101. Retrieved from

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/8/101/htm

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Singh, R. Gambhir, S. Singh, V. Kapoor, and J. Singh, (2014). Oral health: How

much do you know? – A study on knowledge, attitude and practices of

patients visiting a North Indian dental school, doi: 10.4103/1305-

7456.126244. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6201552/

S. Dieng, D. Cisse, P. Lombrail and S A Levy, (2020), Mothers’ oral health

literacy and children’s oral health status in Pikine, Senegal: A pilot study,

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226876. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6977722/

M. Ueno, S. Takeuchi, A. Oshiro and Y. Kawaguchi, (2013), Relationship

between oral health literacy and oral health behaviors and clinical status in

Japanese adults, Volume 8, Issue 2,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jds.2012.09.012. Retrieved from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1991790212001547

Jagan Kumar Baskaradoss, (2018), Relationship between oral health literacy and

oral health status, doi: 10.1186/s12903-018-0640-1. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054034/

https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/childrens-oral-health/index.html

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https://www.healthline.com/health/dental-and-oral-health#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/periodontitis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4054034/

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