Impact of Dental Health Education on "Specific Learning Needs" Children

Impact of an oral health education program in Egyptian children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A cross sectional study

AIM

This study was conducted to assess the oral health status in a group of Egyptian children, living with ADHD, before and after the implementation of an oral health education program.

METHODS

A total of 29 Egyptian children, aged 8-12 years old diagnosed with ADHD were enrolled in this study. Their oral health status was assessed using OHI-S. Oral health education program using audiovisual and verbal methods was addressed to the children and their caregivers. The children were advised to limit eating sugar to be once per week, and to brush their teeth twice a day. Modified Bass Technique of tooth brushing was demonstrated to the children using jaw model and toothbrush. A motivational visit was performed for the children after 1 month. At the end of the 3 months program, oral health status of the children was reassessed.

RESULTS

The results showed that there was a significant increase in cases with "Good" scores after the oral health education program (p < .001), moreover, there was a significant decrease of OHI-S scores after the program (p < .001).

CONCLUSION

The oral health education program was efficient in achieving improvement in the oral health status of children with ADHD.

Short-term impact of an oral health program for adults with cerebral palsy

AIM

To evaluate the impact of an oral health program for institutionalized individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and their caregivers, after 2 and 6 months.

METHODS

Sixty-two CP individuals in four homes were selected for intervention group (n = 31) and control group (n = 31). An oral hygiene practices questionnaire was applied to all caregivers at the baseline. Both groups received awareness sessions, practical demonstration of toothbrushing and adaptive techniques with role-play. In the study group, individual oral hygiene monitoring was also performed in the first 2 months. A gingival and an oral hygiene indexes were performed at the beginning, after 2 and 6 months of intervention.

RESULTS

There was a significant reduction of gingival (p < 0.001) and oral hygiene (p < 0.001) indexes at 2 and 6 months in the intervention group with the most significant reductions at 2 months. Caregivers reported opening the mouth (84.6%) and swallowing toothpaste (61.5%) as the most important difficulties in performing toothbrushing.

CONCLUSION

It was found that frequent and individualized monitoring of plaque control was essential to reduce dental plaque and gingivitis levels and that awareness sessions were not enough to produce clinically significant result.

Evaluation of the Impact of Oral Health Education on Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Plaque Control of School-going Children in the City of Amritsar

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The present study aims to evaluate the impact of oral health education on oral hygiene knowledge and plaque control of school-going children in the city of Amritsar.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out for 6 weeks and included four groups of schoolchildren of 10-12 years of age. Children were randomly selected and assigned into one of the four groups - Group I (verbal communication), Group II (verbal communication and self-educational pamphlets), Group III (audiovisual aids and verbal communication), and Group IV (control group). Oral health education was assessed by getting a questionnaire filled by children and plaque scores was recorded using Silness and Loe plaque index before and after the study. The data were then compared and analyzed using SPSS 16 software manufactured by IBM.

RESULTS

Differences in knowledge gain after the dental health education were statistically significant between all the groups, except between Group II and Group III in which the difference was not found to be significant. Group III showed the highest decrease in plaque score followed by Group II. There was a significant difference in reduction in plaque scores between all the groups, except between the Groups II and III.

CONCLUSION

Both methods, i.e., pamphlets and audiovisual aids when used along with oral lectures, are equally effective in improving the knowledge and plaque scores in children.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Primary Preventive Dental Health Education Programme Implemented Through School Teachers for Primary School Children in Mysore City

Aims and Objectives:

The present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of a Primary Preventive Dental Health Education Programme conducted for 6–12-year-old primary school children in Mysore City.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 12 schools, one each in the category of Government, Aided, and Unaided, were randomly selected per zone viz., North, South, East, and West. These 12 schools constituted the study group where the Primary Preventive School Dental Health Education Programme (PPSDHEP) was implemented. Two additional schools were selected at random from the four zones to serve as the control. A total of 926 children participated in the study. The PPSDHEP involved the second-level transfer of preventive package wherein the oral health education was imparted to the school children by schoolteachers trained by the investigator. Among the parameters for evaluating the outcome of the programme were the pre and post-programme assessment (at the baseline and at follow-up, i.e., after 6 months) of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), dental caries status, oral hygiene, and gingival health status.

Results:

The results suggest that the PPSDHEP resulted in bringing about an enhancement in the KAP towards oral health and also an improvement in dental caries, oral hygiene, and gingival health status of the school children in the study group.

Conclusion:

The present study supports the implementation of similar programmes in schools and the contention that schoolteachers are suitable personnel for imparting dental health education to school children on a regular basis.