LAUSR

BACKGROUND Parents believe that teething is associated with signs and symptoms, which may induce them to give medications that could harm their children. Some children may require alleviation of symptoms and overall attention. AIM To assess parents' beliefs and attitudes towards teething. DESIGN Through electronic databases and grey literature, this systematic review identified cross-sectional studies reporting parents' beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about the signs and symptoms of primary tooth eruption in children aged between 0 and 36 months. Three reviewers independently selected the studies, collected the information, assessed methodological quality, and checked for accuracy with disagreements solved by a fourth reviewer. The Agency of Research and Quality in Health questionnaire for cross-sectional studies was used for the quality assessment. Descriptive analysis with median and interquartile ranges were adopted. RESULTS Twenty-nine studies comprising 10,524 participants from all geographic regions were included. The methodological quality of the studies was moderate. Most parents have beliefs in signs and symptoms during dentition, the most reported symptom being the desire to bite. Oral rehydration was the most exposed attitude in the studies included. Only a small proportions of parents reported no attitude. CONCLUSIONS The majority of parents believed in at least one sign or symptom associated with teething, and only few of them would do nothing or just wait for the signs or symptoms to pass, with no difference among countries. Protocol doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/S2KZ3.