DOES PARENTAL ORAL HEALTH BEHAVIOUR PREDICT ORAL HEALTH STATUS OF THEIR CHILDREN??
INTRODUCTION
The importance of oral health to the general health of individuals and its role in the assessment of an individual’s wellbeing is well established. The oral health status and oral health habits have been correlated positively with the dental status and behaviour in the pre-school period [1]. Thus, the dental health status of the pre-school child is often viewed as the first step in an ongoing process because preventive practices established during the first year of life is an important determinant of dental health several years later1. Indeed, the adoption of good oral health habits in childhood often takes place at home with the parents, especially the mothers[2].

Factors such as education of mothers, occupation, age, knowledge, attitude, and behavior can provide insight for improving their health habits and their children’s health indirectly [3]. The relation between dental health of mothers and dental caries in their children has beeen explained by the influence of faulty dietary habits on infants as well as by infection of the child’s mouth by maternal bacteria [4, 5]. Henceforth, the brushing habits of mothers, dietary habits, and food habits are associated directly with those of their children [5, 6]. Dental care professionals accept that efforts aimed at improving parental oral health behaviours could result in reductions in caries risk among their children