Health Promotion Training in Dental and Oral Health Degrees: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Dental diseases are a major burden on health; however, they are largely preventable. Dental treatment alone will not eradicate dental disease with a shift to prevention required. Prevention of dental diseases is a role of dental professionals, with most countries having formalized health promotion competencies for dental and oral health graduates. In spite of this, there may be minimal health promotion being undertaken in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review to identify some published studies on health promotion training in dental and oral health degrees. Key search terms were developed and used to search selected databases, which identiied 84 articles. Four articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the review. Of these studies, the type of oral health promotion tasks and instructions received before the tasks varied. However, for all studies the health promotion content was focused on health education. In terms of evaluation of outcomes, only two studies evaluated the health promotion content using student relections. More good-quality information on health promotions training is needed to inform practice.

Are educating and promoting interventions effective in oral health?: A systematic review

“…It is well demonstrated that tooth decay is common in almost half of the world's population . Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2015, the majority of adults and school children are affected by dental caries and 5%‐15% of most populations suffer from severe periodontitis . Oral health is a core component of public health and well‐being .…”

“…“Oral health has multifaceted nature that provides the ability of speaking, smiling, smelling, tasting, touching, chewing and swallowing, which comforts expressing emotions confidently and prevents the diseases of the without the feeling of pain and discomfort” . Considering the high costs of oral diseases, their prevention takes substantial focus and attention at both individual and government levels which requires a shift from treatment to prevention . Preventing oral diseases is due to the health promotion efforts and success of health promotion initiatives …”

“…Considering the high costs of oral diseases, their prevention takes substantial focus and attention at both individual and government levels which requires a shift from treatment to prevention . Preventing oral diseases is due to the health promotion efforts and success of health promotion initiatives …”

Exploratory scoping of the literature on factors that influence oral health workforce planning and management in developing countries

“…Although it is commonly accepted that oral health promotion is more important than the temporary relief of oral discomfort, the sector appears to suffer still, from lack of a prevention‐oriented approach. Oral disease rates are rising internationally and there is still over‐reliance on the clinical treatment model , which may reflect a lack of willingness of the dental profession to reinforce preventive policies. Prevention is an important element to consider in appropriate oral health workforce management and needs to be augmented for cost‐effective care .…”

Perception of Nepalese dental hygiene and dentistry students towards the dental hygienists profession

“…To enable appropriate oral health workforce management, prevention is important and needs to be augmented for cost‐effective care. Prevention and health promotion training is still not a large component of many dental programmes . Often, the (restorative focused) curriculum is modelled to countries with different oral health needs, and little priority is given to preventive care .…”