Parents’ Willingness to Invest in Primary Oral Health Prevention for Their Preschool Children

Summary

This cross-sectional study of 142 parents of preschool children examined parental willingness to invest in primary oral health prevention through both financial and temporal commitments. Parents averaged willingness to pay EUR15.84 monthly, attend 1.9 dental visits annually, and spend 2.4 minutes daily on tooth brushing. Higher maternal education and older child age, as well as greater baseline brushing frequency, were associated with increased investment intentions across both time and monetary measures.

UK applicability

The findings are potentially applicable to UK dental public health planning and parent education, though the sample appears to be drawn from a European context (EUR currency). UK health systems may benefit from understanding parental investment barriers and enablers when designing early childhood caries prevention programmes, particularly in addressing socio-economic disparities in uptake.

Key measures

Willingness to pay per month (EUR); willingness to invest in time measured as number of dental visits per year and minutes per day spent brushing child's teeth; parental demographic, socio-economic and behavioural characteristics

Outcomes reported

The study measured parents' willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to invest in time (WTIT) for primary oral health prevention in preschool children aged six months to four years, and explored associations with demographic, socio-economic and behavioural characteristics. Key outcomes included monthly monetary investment (EUR), number of dental visits per year, and daily brushing time in minutes.

Topic tags