الفهرس 
Prevalence of self-medication for dental conditions by parents for their children (Cross-sectional Study)
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Abstract
This study was a cross-sectional study that assessed the prevalence of self-medication and practices of self-medication for dental conditions by parents for their children.
Data was obtained through a written closed structured questionnaire translated to the Arabic language. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: the first section contained questions recording the demographic details namely age of the child, the relation of the respondent to the child (father/mother), educational level of the parents. The second section comprised 18 close-ended questions of which 12 are binary (yes/no) and 6 are multiple-choice questions which represented the practices of self-medication of parents for their children for oral conditions. The questionnaires were admitted to the parents in the waiting area and clinics of the Pediatric Dentistry Department. The answered questionnaires were collected from the participants on the same day.
The prevalence of self-medication was calculated based on the answers of the parents to question number (1) in the second section. All data collected was saved on a computer and finally statistically analyzed.
A total of 188 female parents participated in the study. The prevalence of self-medication was found to be 73.94% as 139 respondents reported giving drugs to their children without the advice of a doctor or using previous prescriptions for the treatment of oral conditions. The commonest cause of this prevalence was the non-availability of a near dental clinic, and the common source information for self-medication was members of the family.
There was no statistical difference between the demographic data (age of the children, age of parents, and their educational level), and the self-medication. The most common oral health problem treated by self-medication was toothache. Pain killers (Analgesics) were used widely among the majority of the study population, and a significantly higher percentage of them thought that the relief of the symptoms of the dental conditions was temporary. Health education programs about the potential risks of self-medication practices for parents are mandatory to limit these practices and decrease the possible side effects of self-medication