Low-income African American children experience high rates of dental caries compared to the general population. Knowledgeable and efficacious caregivers can play an important role in caries prevention. This study developed and evaluated four brief measures reflecting mothers’ potentially modifiable cognitions associated with African American children’s oral health: (1) knowledge about appropriate bottle use (KBU); (2) children’s oral hygiene (KCOH); (3) oral health-related fatalism (OHF); and (4) oral health-related self-efficacy (OHSE).