Parents’ perception towards the signs and symptoms of infant teething

Resumo

The aim of this study was to evaluate
the perception of parents or guardians about the signs and symptoms
found during tooth eruption of their infants treated in the Pediatric
Dentistry Clinics at the University of Joinville Region – Univille.
Material and methods: We conducted an observational and crosssectional study using data collected from structured interviews
with 50 parents and guardians. Results: Of the sample studied,
only 18% said they had no knowledge on signs and symptoms of
teething. Among the local events, itching/finger or object sucking was
the most frequent (94%) followed by anxiety / irritability (86%). In
open questions, the salivation increasing was found to be the most
frequent response (36%) and 42 people employed some treatment
to relieve the health alterations during teething. As regards to
the attitudes taken, dentist appointment was reported by 11.63%
of the people. Concerning to object sucking, 82% confirmed this
behavior and 36.59% reported that these objects were cleaned. Of
the respondents in this study, 43.90% would like to receive more
information on this issue. Conclusion: Given these results, both
the family and the health team must be oriented during the infants’
teething so that the prevalence of the signs and symptoms can be
determined, known, and relieved.