Volume : 6, Issue : 12, December - 2017

Effectiveness of dental health education program in improving the oral health status of 6-13 year old Government residential school children of Mysore district.

Dr. Garima Sharma, Dr. Shirin Vashishth

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;A study was designed to determine the effectiveness of dental health education program in improving the oral health status, oral health related knowledge and behavior of government residential school children of Mysore district. All the government primary residential schools (total 5) of Mysore district were included and divided into 3 groups (&lsquo;twice intervention&rsquo;, &lsquo;once intervention&rsquo; or &lsquo;control&rsquo; group). A questionnaire was administered and oral examination was conducted at baseline, 6^thmonth and 12^th month. Mean knowledge and behaviour scores increased for all groups with maximum increase in &lsquo;twice intervention group&rsquo;. &lsquo;Twice intervention group&rsquo; showed significantly more improvement in mean plaque and gingival index scores as compared to &lsquo;once intervention group&rsquo;, while control group showed deterioration. Therefore, dental health education program is effective in improving the oral health status of the schoolchildren and highlights the importance of reinforcement.</p> <p class="MsoBodyText2"><o:p></o:p></p>