LTNe kartą įrodyta, kad vaiko sveikata yra šeimos kultūros, įsitikinimų ir žinių, socialinės aplinkos ir fizinių gyvenimo sąlygų visumos rezultatas. Naujausių tyrimų duomenimis, dantų kariesas ir periodontitas yra labiausiai paplitusios dantų ligos šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje (Kandhan ir Jeevanandan, 2020). Tarp vaikų visame pasaulyje yra paplitęs dantų kariesas, neigiamai veikiantis jų burnos sveikatą ir gyvenimo kokybę (Adomaitienė ir Naskauskienė, 2019; Kyoon-Achan, Schroth, DeMare, Sturym, Edwards, Sanquins, Campbell, Chartrand, Bertoje ir Moffatt, 2021). Todėl rekomenduojama nuo mažens gerinti burnos sveikatą, ugdyti burnos sveikatos priežiūros įgūdžius, suteikti reikalingos informacijos, skatinti pozityvią elgseną, susijusią su burnos sveikatos priežiūra. Kuriant ir įgyvendinant tokias programas būtina įvertinti esamą burnos sveikatos ir jos priežiūros suvokimą vaiko namuose, jo tėvų patirtį bei informuotumą, siekiant užtikrinti, kad veiksmingą burnos higieną padedančios palaikyti priemonės bus įsisavintos vaikui prieinamiausiu keliu. Esminiai žodžiai: burnos sveikatos priežiūra, vaikai, tėvų įtaka, slaugytojai.
ENScientific studies have proven that a child's health is the result of a combination of family culture, beliefs, and knowledge, social environment, and physical living conditions. According to WHO data, 60-90 percent of Lithuanian children suffer from dental caries, which causes great problems both in the population and in individual families (Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, 2016). The role and awareness of parents are important in the perception and care of children's oral health and solve problems of children's oral health prevention. The aim of the research: to study the influence of parents on the oral health care of children up to 18 years of age from a nurse’s point of view. Research methods: review and analysis of scientific and medical literature, quantitative study. 37 employees were interviewed as part of the qualitative study. Research conclusions: according to the research, the role of parents in the oral health care of children up to 18 years of age is illustrated by taking their children to the dentist once a year (90%), sometimes twice a year or when problems arise. Most often they are taken to the dentist for the first time between the ages of 4 and 6 or 7 and 10 years. Parents were found to lack information about free oral care services, dental hygiene procedures and the importance of oral health to the child's health. Parents receive the most information about children's oral health care from medical staff (81%) and social networks (75.7%). Identified factors that determine parental influence on oral health care for children under 18, include a lack of knowledge, family financial capabilities and child's fears, according to nurses. Parents lack information about free oral care services, dental hygiene procedures and the importance of oral health for the child's health.Parents receive information about children's oral health care from medical personnel and social networks. Nurses usually inform parents during a visit to the dentist and by setting up information stands, but they do not make sufficient use of the opportunities for disseminating information on social networks. Keywords: oral health care, children, parental influence, nurses.