Abstract
Background: Infant oral health is the most important part of children health. ECC is considered as any type of missing teeth, tooth decay or unfilled teeth which is a serious issue due to which children can limit their chewing, eating and talking ability.
Objective: To determine the level of knowledge and attitude towards early childhood caries and infant oral health among undergraduate nursing students in Peshawar.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated questionnaire including demographic information, level of knowledge and attitude towards early childhood caries and infant oral health. The sample includes 377 undergraduate nursing students who were selected conveniently from different nursing colleges in Peshawar. The data was analyzed and presented in form of means and SD, frequencies and percentages using SPSS version 23.
Results: Out of 377 undergraduate nursing students with the mean age 22.3+1.6, majority f=67(87%) of the female (n=77) nursing students have moderate to good level of knowledge followed by f=232(77.3%) male nursing students (n=300) have moderate to good level of knowledge towards ECC & IOH. Moreover, majority of the f=72(93.5%) female nursing students (n=77) have positive attitude followed by male (n=300) nursing students f=277(92.3%) also have positive attitude towards ECC & IOH, respectively.
Conclusion: This study concluded that majority of undergraduate nursing students in Peshawar have moderate level of knowledge and showed positive attitude towards early childhood caries and infant oral health, which necessitate that nursing students must have infant oral health related education in their curriculum.