Evaluation of school dental health activities in Hiraizumi primary school, Iwate prefecture

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health activities in Hiraizumi primary school, Iwate prefecture. As a result of intensive dental health activities from 1978 to 1990, which consisted of tooth brushing instruction by class, dental education for the schoolchildren and their guardians, utilization of fluoride mouth rinsing (once a week), and, by following a model school of caries prevention designated by the Ministry of Education et al., the oral health status of the Hiraizumi primary schoolchildren improved significantly compared with those of the Ohya primary schoolchildren who followed the routine school dental health activities. The results of questionnaires, taken from both primary schoolchildren in 1986 and 1989, show that the oral health behavior of the Hiraizumi primary schoolchildren also improved.