Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitude of Parents about Oral Candidiasis among Infants in Saudi Arabia

A commensal species of Candida yeast called Candida albicans enters the oral mucosa by opportunistic mechanisms to produce candidiasis. This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness level of Parents in KSA regarding Oral candidiasis causes and management in infants. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The questionnaire was distributed online using Google Forms. Data collection included 385 children and was entered on the computer using (the Microsoft Excel 2016) program and then transferred to the Statistical Package of Social Science Software program (SPSS) Version 20 to be statistically analyzed. The study included 410 participants, 82.7% of whom were females. 37.3% acknowledged awareness of this condition. Furthermore, 14.1% of respondents reported that their children had been diagnosed with oral candidiasis. 14.9% of participants had good knowledge scores of oral candidiasis in infants, 12.2% had moderate knowledge and 72.9% had poor knowledge. As for attitude, 40% of participants had a positive attitude towards oral candidiasis in infants, 14.9% had a neutral attitude, and 45.1% had a negative attitude. In conclusion, the knowledge and awareness of parents about oral candidiasis among infants in Saudi Arabia was very poor. The attitude was negative as well. Knowledge scores were significantly associated with age, gender, marital status, and number of children. However, attitude with significantly associated with age and gender.