Are School Oral Health Programs Effective in Changing Dental Health and Health Behavior of Children; an Observational Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Oral health issues are recorded to be growing among children due to either insufficient knowledge or ineffective oral health care. The study investigated the effectiveness of the school oral health (OH) program for changing dental health and health behavior among the students in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This cross-sectional design study followed STROBE (strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology) guidelines to include 348 female primary children in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. These were equally divided into three groups; i.e., teacher delivered oral health program, dentist delivered oral health program, and lastly control group. Data was collected through a close-ended questionnaire, and were analyzed through descriptive statistics and ANOVA. RESULTS: Findings of the study showed improved OH status, better OH knowledge, behavior and practices among children. Self-evaluation results showed that the teachers conducted education program was more effective, then the dentists conducted education program. Also, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) score was found high for the psychological aspect of the children. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of the school oral health program for changing dental health and health behavior among the students was better.