Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Background: The usage of  pacifier beyond the age of 2years could lead to significant jaw and dental malformation. Pacifier  sucking  was  more  common  than thumb sucking and isrelated with a lower incidence of breastfeeding amongst the 12 month old. The present study was conducted to determine the impact of maternal education on pacifier use and dental visits. Materials and methods: The present prospective observational study was performed in the department of Pedodontics for a period of 9 months.  The frequency of dental visit of the children were also taken note of.  The   questionnaires were distributed, and study was explained and queries were answered. Educational level was classified as low, medium, or high based according to the highest official degree obtained. The age at which the child stopped using pacifier was noted. All the data thus obtained was arranged in a tabulated form and analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The present study enrolled 100 mothers between the age of 26-39 years. There were still 8 subjects who discontinued at 24-35 months, 4 at 36-47 months, 2 at 48-59 months. There were 4 subjects who visited only once in year. Table 3 demonstrates the impact of maternal education on discontinuation of pacifier. Females with medium level education and low level education were the ones who made their children use pacifier till 48-59 months. Conclusion: Maternal education also has a great impact on the same. In our study, mothers with low education level allowed usage of pacifier for a higher age.
Key words: Dental, pacifier, questionnaires.

Received: 26 February, 2019                            Revised: 29 March, 2019                  Accepted: 30 March, 2019

Corresponding Author: Dr. Neha Nigam Gupta, Sr lecturer, Dept of Pedodontics,  Rishiraj college of Dental Sciences and Research Centre,  Bhopal, M.P., India

This article may be cited as: Gupta NN, Gupta K. Maternal Education’s Impact on Pacifier use and Frequency of Dental Visits.  J Adv Med Dent Scie Res 2019;7(5): 115-117.