The impact of integrating oral health education into a microbiology curriculum for students of department of life science

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Good oral health is important for general health of the body. This study aimed to evaluate an innovative design incorporating oral health education related to oral pathogenic bacteria into a microbiology laboratory curriculum for students of department of life science by evaluating the students’ perspectives on the oral health curriculum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-six students who took the elective course entitled “Microbiology Laboratory” in the National Taiwan Normal University in 2022 were invited to fill out the questionnaire for a presurvey regarding their familiarity with basic oral health concepts, and a postsurvey in which the students answered the same presurvey questions after finishing the class. RESULTS: Of the 26 students, 25 (96.15%) participated in both the presurvey and postsurvey. The results showed that the learning unit of oral health education related to oral pathogenic bacteria helped students in raising their concepts of oral health. To the questions asking that I understand the bacteria that cause dental caries and the pathogenic mechanism and I understand the bacteria that cause periodontal diseases and the pathogenic mechanism, the numbers of students who agreed both questions increased from 2 (8%) to 25 (100%), respectively. Moreover, the mean scores increased from 2.64 to 4.32 (P < 0.001) and from 2.68 to 4.32 (P < 0.001) for the two corresponding questions, respectively. CONCLUSION: The learning unit of oral health education in the microbiology laboratory curriculum helped the students of department of life science to increase their awareness and understanding of oral health.