Effect of different school dental health education interventions on enhancing the oral health status of children

Abstract

To compare the effectiveness of three modes of school dental health education and the two frequencies of reinforcements on the oral health status of children Three hundred and sixty school children aged 8 to 9 years participated in this study Dental caries status its treatment needs oral hygiene status oral health related quality of life scores and knowledge attitude practice behavior questionnaire scores were recorded One mode of SDHE was randomly allotted to each school Children were randomly sub-divided based on the frequency of reinforcement provided. Post intervention data was collected after two years There was a significant reduction in the dental caries, treatment needs debris scores and significant improvement in the overall oral health related knowledge and quality of life scores in all the three modes Children who received game mode SDHE every 3 months had significantly more number of filled primary teeth compared to children who received the reinforcement every 6 months All three modes were effective in improving the oral health status of school children Game mode and reinforcements given every 3 months made the highest impact on the oral health of these children newline