Research Article
Is It Mum or the Dad? Parental Factors That Influence the Use and Acceptance of Fluoride Varnish among Parents in Eastern Saudi Arabia
Table 2
Factors that influence parents’ knowledge about fluoride varnish (N = 623).
| Variables | Responses | Knowledge score category (%) | P value | Poor knowledge n = 393 | Good knowledge n = 230 |
| Gender | Male | 30.3% | 20.0% | 0.003 | Female | 69.7% | 80.0% |
| Mother’s age | Under 25 years | 8.9% | 5.2% | 0.168 | 25–30 years | 12.7% | 14.8% | 31–40 years | 20.6% | 27.0% | 41–50 years | 34.9% | 33.5% | Over 50 years | 22.9% | 19.6% |
| Father’s age | Under 25 years | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.004 | 25–30 years | 6.9% | 5.2% | 31–40 years | 18.6% | 22.6% | 41–50 years | 23.4% | 34.3% | Over 50 years | 50.9% | 37.0% |
| Nationality | Saudi | 94.4% | 95.2% | 0.406 | Non-Saudi | 5.6% | 4.8% |
| Mother’s educational level | Uneducated | 10.4% | 5.2% | 0.001 | School diploma | 43.0% | 29.6% | University education and above | 46.6% | 65.2% |
| Father’s educational level | Uneducated | 7.4% | 3.5% | 0.025 | School diploma | 43.5% | 37.8% | University education and above | 49.1% | 58.7% |
| Family’s income | Low-income level (≥5000 riyals per month) | 12.5% | 7.8% | 0.006 | Middle income (lower middle and upper middle from 5000 to 20,000 riyals per month) | 53.9% | 52.2% | High income (more than 20,000 riyals per month) | 18.8% | 29.6% | Not sure | 14.8% | 10.4% |
| Parents work in the medical field | Yes | 8.9% | 23.0% | 0.001 | No | 91.1% | 77.0% |
| Number of children | One child | 15.8% | 11.3% | 0.253 | Two or three children | 25.2% | 28.7% | More than three children | 59.0% | 60.0% |
| Source of knowledge | Social media | 12.2% | 11.3% | 0.001 | Internet | 2.3% | 7.4% | Dentist | 8.4% | 48.7% | Friends | 4.8% | 9.1% | No knowledge | 72.3% | 23.5% |
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