A school-based oral health educational program: the experience of Maringa- PR, Brazil

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the preliminary results of a school-based oral health educational strategy adopted in public primary schools from the city of Maringa, State of Parana, Brazil. The study sample was composed by 556 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years old, 124 schoolteachers and a group of 55 mothers. The educational approach was implemented for 18 months and consisted of reinforcements of interventions addressed to students and schoolteachers at school level and few activities targeted at the mothers, performed by means of home visits. Baseline and follow-up interviews focused on oral health care were undertaken for the entire study population. As a stimulus for the students to achieve proper oral hygiene habits, the simplified oral hygiene index was assessed at three different moments. A statistically significant improvement in their oral hygiene index (p<0.001) was recorded. The results achieved suggest an encouraging tendency towards the improvement in the levels of oral health care among the school-age youths studied. They also point out the need of intensifying the preparation of schoolteachers in oral health topics, as well the instructions to the mothers for their oral health care. Moreover, they highlight the importance of the continuous implementation of school-based programs to promote the oral health.

Effect of Training School Teachers on Oral Hygiene Status of 8-10 Years Old Government School Children of Udaipur City, India

“…This was in near similarity with Nyandindi et al, who suggested that about 80% of all children in their study said they used a factory-made toothbrush, and 90% or more preferred a factorymade brush over the traditional 'mswaki' [18]. Similar findings were observed in study conducted by Conrado CA et al, who also deduced that there was an increment in the extent of those youngsters and teenagers guaranteeing to brush their teeth three or more times each day, utilizing dentifrice, flossing and an expert fluoride application [11].…”

“…These findings were in partial accordance with Conrado CA et al, and Maheshwari UN et al, who also used OHI-S and DI-S respectively to compare pre and post training effects of oral health education. Mean pre and post training OHI-S scores as derived by Conrado CA et al, were 2.55 ± 0.36 and 0.87 ± 0.13 respectively, indicating a significant improvement in oral hygiene after education [11]. Maheshwari UN et al, also found significant increase in good oral hygiene scores and a significant decrease in debris scores on post oral health education with p-value < 0.0522 [22].…”

“…Significant others can serve as models for children and children will have strong self-efficacy if they observe a successful model similar to themselves [9,10]. Younger children possibly can do logic thoughts, can work together in teams, can realize the cause-result interaction and explore everything [11,12]. Instructors have a persuasive position, thus can make important commitments to wellbeing advancement in the school community [13].…”

High and specialty-related musculoskeletal disorders afflict dental professionals even since early training years

“…Based on our findings, clinical supervisors should put more emphasis on musculoskeletal health according to the specific disease patterns of MSDs in distinct specialties, as numerous pedagogies have been shown to improve self-protection awareness 7,21 . In addition, more physical exercises and less desk time could help dental personnel stay away from MSDs.…”

Educação em Saúde: Efeito de um Método de Auto-Instrução Sobre os Níveis de Higiene Oral em Escolares

“…A existência de uma força moti vadora provocará uma mudança de ati tude e, conseqüentemente, de comportamento no paciente, resultando numa alteração de hábitos e ati tudes que levem a preservação da saúde bucal, objeti vo maior da prevenção 6 . Entre as mudanças de hábitos que devem ser esti muladas destaca-se o correto controle da placa bacteriana, por meio de medidas adequadas de higiene oral [1][2][7][8][9][10] . Desta forma, a educação e moti vação são fundamentais pois, de nada adiantaria o ensino de técnicas de escovação modernas e efi cientes e do uso do fi o dental se não fosse esti mulada no paciente a consciência da importância de tais procedimentos para a manutenção da integridade de seus dentes 11 .…”