School-Based Dental Education for Improving Oral Self-Care in Mexican Elementary School–Aged Children

Abstract

Aim. To test the efficiency and acceptance of school-based dental education for improving oral self-care in Mexican elementary school–aged children. Method. A total of 408 students from 4 schools were examined at the baseline, 3 months (follow-up rate was 94%) and 6 months observations (follow-up rate 91%). Group 1 served as a control, Group 2 received a lecture-based education, and Group 3 consisted of trained peer-leaders who educated their peers. Oral self-care practice and oral self-care skills were assessed at the baseline and both follow-ups. A number of sociodemographic and oral health behavior/knowledge characteristics were tested as predictors of oral self-care outcomes at different observation periods. Results. Oral self-care outcomes improved in Groups 2 and 3, but not in the control group. The selected child population, their caregivers and teachers perceived the school-based educational strategy as important and necessary. There was no consistent pattern of predictors explaining variations in oral self-care outcomes at any of the observation periods. Oral self-care improvement observed at the 6 months observation was mainly predicted by the baseline oral self-care levels, dental education, and age. Conclusions. The school-based dental education was easy to implement, and it was effective for improving children’s oral self-care practice and skills.

Comparative Study of Oral Health Education Given by a Dentist and Schoolteachers in Thai Grade 3 Students

“…Here, we found that students who participated in additional OHE sessions demonstrated enhanced OH skills, strengthened behaviors toward OH, and reduced plaque scores relative to the control group, independent of the provider. Our results are consistent with other research that found that a range of approaches or OHE given by educators can effectively enhance OH skills..[ 17 18 19 ] Although our findings indicated that the control group had a substantial improvement in OH knowledge in the immediate post-test and three-month follow-up period, the dentist and teacher groups produced a two-fold increase in knowledge compared with the control group. The children in the control group may have gained OH-related information from other channels, such as commercials or online e-learning.…”

The role of community health workers in promoting oral health at school settings: A scoping review

“…Peers are fellow learners who provide health education advice and model healthy behavior to their schoolmates (42). Peer-led interventions were found to generally focus on adolescent children ranging 11-13 years (39,(43)(44)(45).…”

Educational approaches to improving knowledge and attitude towards dental hygiene among elementary school children

“…3 Oral and dental hygiene education regarding the importance of maintaining oral hygiene will be more effective if it starts to be given from an early age. 4,5 Primary school students need to maintain the cleanliness of their teeth and mouth from an early age because elementary school students are very vulnerable to dental and oral hygiene problems, one of which is dental caries. 6 The process of dental and oral hygiene education must be carried out using appropriate learning methods, allowing for the information concerning dental and oral health to be presented in more attractive and easy to understand ways, thus bringing a positive impact to change the knowledge and attitudes of elementary school students.…”

“…6 The process of dental and oral hygiene education must be carried out using appropriate learning methods, allowing for the information concerning dental and oral health to be presented in more attractive and easy to understand ways, thus bringing a positive impact to change the knowledge and attitudes of elementary school students. 3,5 The use of appropriate learning methods should be derived from several approaches such as the role-playing method and the storytelling method, so as to provide good results. The roleplaying method will help students, by acting out a situation in human life.…”