Soheir El-Sayed Mahrous Ibrahim^1,, Rahma Soliman Bahgat¹, Fatma Abdelmoniem Elhendawy²

Background: Autistic children present with a neuro-developmental disorder lifelong that makes them susceptible to oral diseases. The study aimed was to determine the effect of health education for mothers about the care of oral health problems on quality of life for their autistic children. Subjects and method: A convenience sampling of sixty mothers and their autistic children participated in the study. The study was conducted at the child psychiatric out-patient clinic at the Psychiatry Center of Tanta University hospital and Pediatric dental clinic faculty of dentistry, Tanta University. Three Tools were used for collection the data: structured interview schedule, an observational checklist for oral assessment, oral health-related quality of life scale. The results showed that an improvement of mothers’ knowledge and practice about the care of oral health problems after the health education implementation and improvement of quality of life for autistic children. The study concluded that the mother’s knowledge and practice about the care of oral health problems improved after the implementation of health education. Autistic children showed an improvement in their quality of life after the implementation of the health education. The study recommended that ongoing in-service educational programs must be prepared and implemented for nurses for the importance of maintaining dental health for autistic children. Education programs for the parents of maintaining their child’s oral health hygiene at home. Dental health awareness lectures and television programs designed for parents and children with different disabilities.

health education, mothers, oral health problems, quality of life, autistic children