Experiential learning for adolescents – results from a 2-year school-based oral health educational program

BACKGROUND: For oral health promotion, teenagers represent an important target group, given that appropriate personal oral hygiene and dietary behaviors are established during this period of life. Experiential learning is an educational approach where learning comes through experience. THE AIM: of the Erasmus+ project “Youth Community-Based Oral Health Learning Model” was to assess the influence of a school-based experiential education program on oral health status, knowledge and behavior among a group of schoolchildren in Bucharest. METHODS: This longitudinal interventional study started in 2015 and enrolled 120 adolescents from three public schools. At baseline, all subjects were clinically examined and received a questionnaire. They were split into two groups: the test group received three experiential lessons and control group benefited from a demonstration of tooth brushing technique. RESULTS: were presented for the test group, 76 schoolchildren, divided in two age groups: 13–14 years and 15–16 years. More children from the test group adopted twice-daily tooth brushing compared to the control group. The level of knowledge was good, but the role of a noncariogenic diet must be emphasized. CONCLUSIONS: The oral health program had positive effects on oral health knowledge and behavior among adolescents. The present study indicated that intervention using experiential learning involving dental students was effective in increasing oral health attitudes and behavior among adolescents from 13–16 years of age included in the study.