Impact of school-based oral health education program on oral health of 12 and 15 years old school children

BACKGROUND: Health education for the school age child is a specialized field within the broad discipline of education. Oral health education program are educational aspects of any curative, preventive and promotional health activity. AIM: The study has been undertaken to evaluate the impact of oral health education on the status of plaque, gingival health and dental caries among 12 and 15 years old children attending government school in Shimla city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and seventy six school children participated in the study. The study was conducted over a period of 4 months from May 2010 to August 2010 in Government Senior Secondary School, Sanjauli. Plaque, gingival and caries status was assessed by using Silness and Loe plaque index, Loe and Silness gingival index and WHO modified DMFT index, respectively. Data was analyzed using the software SPSS version 15. Paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank sum test were used appropriately for statistical comparisons. P value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Overall mean plaque score and gingival score decreased significantly after oral health education irrespective of gender. However, decrease in plaque score among 15 years old female children and gingival scores among 12 and 15 years old female subjects was not significant. Difference in mean caries status was statistically insignificant among all the subjects. CONCLUSION: Short term oral health education program may be useful in improving oral hygiene and gingival health. Coordinating efforts should be enhanced between school personnel, parents and health professionals to ensure long-term benefits of such program.