TABLE 1.

Survey questions regarding maternal oral health knowledge and beliefs.

QUESTION	CORRECT ANSWER FOR KNOWLEDGE OR BELIEF QUESTIONS THAT PROMOTE POSITIVE ORAL HEALTH
Knowledge*
Sugary foods and drinks may cause cavities	True
Cavities and gum disease are caused by an infection in the mouth	True
Fluoride disinfects water and makes it safe to drink	False
Gum disease that is not treated can cause teeth to fall out	True
Fluoride helps prevent cavities	True
It is important to wipe a baby’s gums after he or she drinks from the breast or bottle	True
It is OK to let a baby sleep with a bottle of milk	False
Cleaning baby teeth is not important because they fall out anyway	False
Belief†
It is important for adults to go to the dentist, even when they do not have problems with their teeth	Strongly agree/Agree
It is not safe for pregnant women to get routine dental care such as checkups and cleanings	Disagree/Strongly disagree
It is important to brush your child’s teeth as soon as the teeth come in	Strongly agree/Agree
Cavities in a child’s teeth can lead to other	Strongly agree/Agree
Keeping my child’s teeth healthy is important to me	Strongly agree/Agree
A cavity in a baby tooth does not need to be filled unless it hurts	Disagree/Strongly agree
It is important to take a child to the dentist when the first tooth comes in	Strongly agree/Agree
A woman can lose a tooth just because she is pregnant	Disagree/Strongly disagree

^*Response choices: “True,” “false” or “not sure.”

^†Response choices: “Strongly agree,” “agree,” “disagree,” “strongly disagree” or “don’t know.”