How do parents deal with their children’s teething process problems? A cross-sectional study;

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the methods of parents who have children between 0 and 4 years of age to deal with the problems their children encounter during the eruption process and to examine the effect of sociodemographic factors on the preferred methods. Methods: Parents with children between the ages of 0 and 4 participated in the study by answer-ing a 15-question questionnaire sent over the web, which includes the problems their children encounter during the teething period. Descriptive statistics for the data were calculated and shown as frequency (n) and percentage (%). The distribution of the participants according to gender, age group, and educational status was analyzed with Pearson chi-square and Fisher-Freeman-Halton tests, and P <,05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the parents, 78.3% observed symptoms that affect the general state of their children such as fever, restlessness, rash, diarrhea, ear itching, insomnia during the eruption of their primary teeth; 95.2% of them encountered local symptoms such as increased salivation, thumb sucking, gingival redness, and itching in the gingiva. The most effective solution method that was found for the eruption problems by the parents was teething rings (92,1%), cold application and massage to the area where the tooth erupted, and massage with hard vegetables and fruits. Conclusion: Parents refer many methods to solve the problems their children experience during the eruption of teeth. However, families should be informed about which of these methods are beneficial and which ones will cause a risk to their children's health. © 2023, AVES. All rights reserved.