Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice: Determinants of Parental Behavior in Children’s First Dental Visit in Indonesia

For many parents, the idea of taking a young child to the dentist feels like a task best postponed until the child is older, or until a toothache makes it impossible to wait. This hesitation persists even though health experts have long recommended that children see a dentist within their first year of life. The logic behind this early recommendation is straightforward: a first visit is not about fixing a broken tooth, but about building a foundation. It allows a dentist to check for early signs of decay, teach parents how to care for baby teeth, and help the child get used to the dental chair before any real problems arise. Yet, despite this clear advice and the widespread availability of dental care, a significant gap remains between what parents know they should do and what they actually do. This disconnect is not unique to one country but is a global challenge, particularly in places where the burden of tooth decay in young children remains high. The question is not whether parents understand the importance of oral health, but rather what stops them from acting on that understanding when their children are still very small.

To explore this puzzle, researchers in Indonesia set out to examine the decisions parents make regarding their children's first dental visit. They focused their study on a specific group of families visiting a child development clinic at a major hospital in Bandung. This setting was chosen because it offered a unique view into how parents prioritize different health needs; here, parents were already managing various developmental or medical concerns for their children, which might push routine dental care further down their list of priorities. The research team spoke with 103 parents, asking them about their knowledge of dental recommendations, their feelings about taking a child to the dentist, and their actual experiences. They wanted to see if knowing the rules was enough to change behavior, or if other, deeper factors were at play.

The results painted a clear picture of a system driven by reaction rather than prevention. Among the children in the study, nearly three-quarters had never visited a dentist. For the small group of children who had been, the first visit typically happened between the ages of three and six, well past the recommended first birthday. This delay suggests that most families are waiting for a problem to appear before seeking help, rather than visiting to prevent one. Perhaps the most striking finding was that high levels of knowledge did not lead to early visits. The vast majority of parents in the study knew that children should see a dentist by age one and understood that visits are important even without symptoms. Yet, this knowledge did not translate into action. The researchers found that the single strongest predictor of whether a child had visited a dentist was simply the child's age. Older children were much more likely to have had a visit than younger ones, indicating that parents tend to wait until the child is older and perhaps perceived as more capable of handling the experience.

When the researchers dug deeper into the reasons behind this delay, they found that the barriers were often rooted in perception rather than logistics. For parents whose children had never been to a dentist, the most common reason for not going was the belief that it was simply not necessary yet. Many felt their child was too young, or that there were no visible problems to justify a trip. Fear of the child's reaction and a lack of information about what to expect also played significant roles. Interestingly, practical concerns like cost or difficulty finding a dentist were mentioned far less often than these psychological and perceptual hurdles. The study suggests that parents often view a dental visit as a response to pain or visible damage, rather than as a standard part of health maintenance.

However, the story changed for the parents who had already taken their children to the dentist. Those who had made the trip reported overwhelmingly positive experiences. They felt calm about the visit, and nearly all of them believed the appointment provided reassurance and prepared their child for future care. They recognized the value of early visits for preventing problems, even when no symptoms were present. This contrast highlights a crucial insight: once parents have a direct, positive experience with dental care, their perspective shifts. The abstract idea of prevention becomes a concrete reality, and the perceived barriers that once held them back seem to dissolve.

The study concludes that simply telling parents more about the importance of early dental visits is unlikely to solve the problem. Since knowledge alone is not driving behavior, public health efforts need to focus on the things that actually stop parents from acting. This means addressing the fear that children are too young, helping parents understand what a visit looks like, and integrating oral health checks into the regular care children already receive for other developmental needs. By tackling these perceptual barriers and creating positive early experiences, it may be possible to bridge the gap between what parents know and what they do, ensuring that children get the preventive care they need before problems ever arise.