{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T05:45:56Z","timestamp":1791783956490,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763510400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763510400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Community Dental Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Children\u2019s dental health is closely linked to the knowledge and practices of parents and caregivers, especially regarding caries prevention. This study aims to assess their knowledge and attitudes toward fluoride treatments and dental sealants for children aged 6 to 12 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling to recruit parents and caregivers from the Eastern Province. Participants were invited to complete an online questionnaire shared via social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat. A total of 336 parents and caregivers from the Eastern Province participated. Most parents demonstrated good knowledge of caries prevention, especially regarding regular toothpaste use (97%), brushing (96.4%), and filling decayed teeth (85.4%). Awareness of fluoride mouthwash, fluoridated water, flossing, and professional fluoride application was lower (&lt;70%). Regular dental visits (69.6%) and brushing children\u2019s teeth (88.4%) were common, while daily flossing (53.3%), professional fluoride application (59.2%), fluoride mouthwash use (51.8%), and consumption of fluoridated water (49.1%) were less frequent. Sealant application was reported by 61.3% of participants. While parents show strong engagement with basic dental care, gaps remain in understanding and utilizing additional preventive measures. Targeted educational efforts are recommended to raise awareness about fluoride applications, promote daily flossing, and encourage the establishment of a dental home by age one.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0265539x251400598","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]],"date-time":"2025-11-19T23:46:08Z","timestamp":1763595968000},"page":"263-271","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Parents\u2019 and caregivers\u2019 knowledge and attitudes toward the use of fluoride treatments and dental sealants in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"43","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9056-3414","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diaa","family":"Almutairi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elaf","family":"Alshamrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2714-7785","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Saeed Mastour","family":"Alshahrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abeer","family":"Alshamlan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Prince Abdulrahman Advanced Dental Institute, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hutham","family":"Almugim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maha A.","family":"Alharbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mashael","family":"Alzayani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental Department, Armed Forces Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wejdan","family":"Alharthy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-9038-8728","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Modhi","family":"Hakami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amirah","family":"Almehmmadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Reem","family":"Alnamshan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shamayl","family":"Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raghad","family":"Al-Dera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dental and Oral Health Department, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/jiaphd.jiaphd_30_19"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/children9081215"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5005\/jp-journals-10005-2409"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_3_5_5_1","first-page":"1010","article-title":"Parental comprehension about use of fissure sealants and fluorides in their children and effects on oral health of the children","volume":"2","author":"Al Mutairi MA","year":"2020","unstructured":"Al Mutairi MA (2020) Parental comprehension about use of fissure sealants and fluorides in their children and effects on oral health of the children. 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(2021) Arabian parents\u2019 knowledge, attitude and practice towards their children\u2019s oral health and early childhood caries resided in Riyadh province: an online-based cross-sectional survey. Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research 11(S2): 73\u201381.","journal-title":"Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_12_1","first-page":"38","volume-title":"The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry","author":"American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry","year":"2024","unstructured":"American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (2024) Policy on the dental home. In: The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. 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