Active Participation in Oral Health Education Improves Knowledge Among Children 3-5 Years of Age

Abstract

Objectives: This study evaluates the effectiveness of active participation on improving oral health knowledge among preschool children aged 3-5 years, using age-appropriate materials and multiple learning modalities.Methods: Children aged 3-5 years were randomly assigned to either the test group, where children actively participated in oral health education (provided in English and Spanish), or the control group, where children viewed videos not related to oral health. Two educational sessions were used as part of the training: Lesson 1 focused on educating children about healthy versus unhealthy foods (n = 136); and Lesson 2 focused on oral hygiene habits (n = 132). Blinded post-testing was conducted and oral health knowledge before and after the education was evaluated to analyze the effectiveness of active participation. Results:The test groups (English and Spanish taught) scored significantly higher on the post-test than the control groups. The knowledge of sticky foods and reasons for foods being sticky (p<0.0001), and the awareness on maintaining oral hygiene (p<0.0001) was significantly higher among the children in the test groups following the oral health education. When using a song to encourage children to participate and sing along to understand brushing methods, both English and Spanish test groups significantly improved in the post-test (p<0.0001). Conclusion:The findings in our study suggest that the use of interactive child-friendly tools combined with multiple learning modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and manipulative) among 3-5 years old preschool children can significantly improve their oral health knowledge.