Prevalence of Self-medication for Dental Conditions by Parents for Their Children

According to the World Health Organization, self-medication is the act of medicating oneself, either on their own initiative or on the advice of a close person, to treat self-recognized conditions or symptoms without supervision by a healthcare professional.

The growth and dissemination of self-medication practice represents a serious global public health issue, with increased risks of adverse drug reactions, non-beneficial drug interactions, drug abuse, and the emergence of drug-resistant pathogens.

Parents are the primary caregivers to whom children report their symptoms. But due to the presence of economic and time constraints, some parents seek the practice of self-medication for their children . However, children have a growing body reacting differently to the drugs (need of dose adjustment, choice of the proper route of administration and the need of taking in consideration the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics particularities of medicines) and therefore the inappropriate and unguided use of medications may lead to fatal complications.