Active‐involvement principle in dental health education

Abstract

A basic problem in dental health education (DHE) is that the effect usually disappears shortly after the termination of a program. The purpose of the present study was to obtain long-term effect of a DHE-program by emphasizing the active involvement of the participants. The sample comprised an experimental and a control group, each of 68 unskilled workers, aged 18-64. Active participation was obtained by various means: Teaching was carried out in pre-existing peer groups, the participants' own goals and needs were included, the traditional dentist-patient barriers were excluded, the traditional dentist-patient roles were changed, and the sessions were repeated. No dental treatment was included. The control group did not participate in the DHE-programme. Plaque (PII) and gingivitis (GI) were scored before the program, immediately after, and 6 months and 31/2 yr after the last session. In the experimental group PII and GI decreased significantly from 1.30 and 1.42 at baseline to 0.39 and 0.97 6 months after the program, and 0.45 and 0.79 31/2 yr after the termination of the program. It is suggested that the reason for the long-term effect obtained in the present study was the use of the principle of active involvement of the participants in the DHE-program.

Impact of oral health education on oral hygiene knowledge, practices, plaque control and gingival health of 13‐ to 15‐year‐old school children in Bangalore city

“…The sustainability of the findings, therefore, remains unknown, a limitation identified in several studies regarding oral health education (28). However, some programmes have resulted in improvements that were maintained for at least 3.5 years following the termination of the oral health programme (29).…”

Evaluating the Social Impact and Effectiveness of Four-Year "Love Teeth Day" Campaign in China

“…S cientific research indicates that healthy behavior is a main factor in keeping teeth healthy (Gunn et al, 1985;Schou, 1985) and that it can be motivated by oral health education and promotion (Bennie et al, 1978;Schou, 1987). A great deal of information is available concerning ways in which oral health knowledge and skills can be transmitted to the public (Albino et al, 1978;Greenberg, 1977;Levine, 1985).…”

Effect of three different dental health preventive programmes on young adult individuals: a randomized, blinded, parallel group, controlled evaluation of oral hygiene behaviour on plaque and gingivitis

“…A number of studies in recent decades have demonstrated the positive effects of various measures, individual and group based, aiming at influencing the behaviour of individuals towards promotion of improved oral health (Ryant & Sheiham 1980, Tan et al 1981, Hoogstraten & Moltzer 1983, Schou 1985, Moltzer & Hoogstraten 1986, Glavind 1990, Stewart et al 1991, Nowjack‐Raymer et al 1995, Axelsson et al 2004).…”