Thesis (BA Communication Arts) -- University of the Philippines Mindanao, June 2015.

Preschool children are dependent on their parents for their oral health putting great responsibility to the parents in establishing and maintaining proper oral health practice of their children. Preschool children are most vulnerable to oral health problems since this is the time of transition from temporary to permanent teething. Therefore, the role of parents in the oral health of their children is paramount because they serve as channels in communicating oral health to their children. The research aims to identify the communication gaps in the parents? knowledge, beliefs, and practices and in the communication tools of Davao City Health Office (CHO) such as their posters, flyers, educational materials, and handouts. It also intends to determine the factors that affect their understanding of oral health information presented to them. The methodology used for the research comprised of survey and focus group discussions in order to recognize the knowledge, beliefs, and practices (KBPs) of the parents and other factors that serve as hindrances to the flow of communication from the sender, message, channel, up to the receiver. It was revealed in the study that gender and educational attainment of the parents affected their acquisition of KBPs. The tools of CHO were also identified to record the gap that affected the proper interpretation of information presented in their materials such as timeliness and distribution of the materials. the main communication gap discovered in the study was the preventive approach of the CHO's materials and the remedial ideas on oral health by the parents which will greatly affect the transmission of proper oral health habits and put the overall oral health of preschool children at risk.