Aim: To assess parental knowledge, awareness, attitudes and practices regarding deleterious oral habits in children, and to examine the association between parental occupation and these domains.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted among 113 parents/caregivers using a structured, self-administered Google Form covering demographic details (parental occupation), knowledge of oral habits, awareness of their effects, attitudes toward prevention/treatment, and practices adopted. Descriptive statistics were used for all items. Associations between parental occupation and nominal items were tested using Pearson's chi-square test (with Monte Carlo exact correction where >20% of expected cell counts were <5), ordinal items were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. McNemar's exact test compared informal parental action against professional dental consultation for the same respondents. A composite knowledge score was categorised using Bloom's cut-off convention. A two-sided p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Most parents reported an idea about oral habits (78.8%) and believed such habits could affect their child's teeth (69.9%) and could be prevented (70.8%). Thumb sucking was the most commonly observed habit (33.6%). While 77.0% of parents had tried to help their child stop the habit informally, only 36.3% had ever consulted a dentist about it — a highly significant gap (McNemar's exact test, p < 0.001). Parental occupation was significantly associated with only one of fourteen awareness/practice items tested: belief that oral habits can be prevented (χ² = 10.73, df = 4, Monte Carlo p = 0.027). The composite knowledge score was fairly evenly distributed across Poor (36.3%), Moderate (29.2%) and Good (34.5%) categories.

Conclusion: Parental awareness of deleterious oral habits was reasonably high, but this awareness translated into professional dental consultation for only about a third of affected families. Parental occupation had, at most, a weak influence on awareness and practice. Targeted, universally delivered parental education — emphasising early dental consultation rather than self-management — may help close this awareness-to-practice gap.