Cultural Observations on Vietnamese Children's Oral Health Practices and Use of the Child Oral Health Services in Central Sydney: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The research was conducted to describe Vietnamese-speaking parents' practices in children's oral health care and to identify barriers parents had in accessing child dental services after being notified that their child needed treatment. A qualitative study design was employed, using a stratified purposive sample of five focus groups and three semi-structured interviews. A multidisciplinary team conducted a thematic analysis on the translated transcripts of the focus groups and interview notes. The retention of four traditional patterns of oral care and service use may increase the risk of oral disease among Vietnamese children: traditional oral hygiene practices using salt; delayed introduction of tooth-brushing; not attending a dental clinic for preventive care; and the use of lay remedies, rather than dental care, to cure pain. Language was identified as the major barrier to attending the child dental service, following notification of treatment need. The results suggest that the retention of cultural oral health practices and patterns of service use may increase the risk of oral disease among Vietnamese children. Oral health messages need to provide information in the language spoken at home; messages about dental services and western and traditional practices in oral care.