Oral Health Beliefs and Behavior of Indian Origin Parents

Objective: To investigate whether Indian-origin parents’ oral-health beliefs and behaviors are consistent with guidelines, and whether SES and acculturation are associated with beliefs and behaviors regarding children’s oral health. Methods: Front desk staff of selected pediatric dental offices identified qualifying Indian parents and distributed an anonymous questionnaire upon arrival for their children’s appointments. Responses were collected between August 2014 and January 2015. The questionnaire included 34 questions eliciting demographic information and elements of acculturation, SES and parents' oral health beliefs and behaviors relating to fluoride use, diet and oral hygiene. Statistical analysis was by correlation and multiple, ordinal regression. Results: One hundred and thirty one completed surveys were returned, with 14 blank, for a 90% completion rate. The majority of respondents were female (N=87) and born in India (N=100). They were mostly U.S. citizens (66%) or permanent residents (33%). Subjects were mostly college educated (96%). Most (75%) reported household incomes > $100,000. Acculturation was measured by amount of time in the U.S., citizenship and immigration status. SES was measured by income and parent education. Analysis found that acculturation played a greater role than SES in beliefs. Subjects’ beliefs were somewhat consistent with the AAPD guidelines, but most behaviors appear unrelated to either subject beliefs or guidelines. Oral health beliefs were associated with SES and acculturation. Conclusion: These preliminary findings indicate that Indian parents generally understand recommended behaviors but don’t follow them. The results of this study can be viewed as preliminary findings that need to be explored in future studies on more or differently representative samples.