Effect of Oral Health Education on Oral Health Status, Treatment Needs and Barriers to Care

The Effectiveness of Oral Health Education Using Audio-visual Aids and Frequent Motivation on Oral Health Status, Treatment Needs and Barriers to Care Among Children at Social Homes in Jordan

Jordanian children have very poor oral hygiene parameters, and this is reflected as very high caries prevalence and poor gingival health conditions. This study will focus on children at social homes in the community in order to establish a baseline reference about their oral health status, treatment needs, and barriers to dental care. Also, to report the efficacy of oral health education using audio-visual aids and frequent motivation on oral health status, treatment needs and barriers to care among children at social homes in Jordan.

The oral health status (OHS) for children and adults is a reflection of the whole body general health status as well as the overall quality of life. Jordanian children have very poor oral hygiene parameters, and this is reflected as very high caries prevalence and poor gingival health conditions. Orphans and children who come from broken homes are suspected to have poorer oral health conditions from their peers in the public due to the different parameters that can affect their general health in whole and oral health in particular, and this could affect their quality of life. These parameters can be related to socioeconomic status, psychological and behavioral conditions, access to care and other factors. The role of tooth brushing in decreasing dental caries and enhancing the gingival health is well-established in the literature, and oral health education programs have proven to be effective in improving the oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of children. These programs could be regarded as an effective measure to enhance the oral health status and establish good routines in childhood which is vital for optimum oral health and provision of lifelong protection against caries. This study will focus on children at social homes in the community in order to establish a baseline reference about their oral health status, treatment needs, and barriers to dental care. Also, to report the efficacy of oral health education using audio-visual aids and frequent motivation on oral health status, treatment needs and barriers to care among children at social homes in Jordan.

This is a cross-sectional study on a randomly selected group of children from randomly selected social homes in Jordan. Children and/or the care giver (n=500) will answer a questionnaire in an interview about his/her demographics, oral health related habits, the child general health status, the child oral health related quality of life, barriers to getting dental care, treatment needs for those children. A thorough clinical examination will be done to these children by a mouth mirror and explorer at a suitable room in the social home. The investigators will record the baseline oral health status parameters (Caries, gingival health and presence of plaque). For the interventions; A representative sample (25%) will be divided to two subgroups; group one (Study) and group two (Control) which will be matched for age and gender.

They will be educated and motivated by an intensive program consisting of verbal instructions, Power Point lectures, posters and live demonstrations about oral hygiene instructions and teaching the proper way to brush the teeth. These will be reinforced by the investigator at intervals of 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.

They will receive verbal oral hygiene instructions using a model to demonstrate only once at the beginning of the study, no further motivation or educational seminars will be done.

Subjects will receive verbal oral hygiene instructions using a model to demonstrate only once at the beginning of the study, no further motivation or educational seminars will be done.

Subjects will be educated and motivated by an intensive program consisting of verbal instructions, PowerPoint lectures, posters and live demonstrations about oral hygiene instructions and teaching the proper way to brush the teeth. These will be reinforced by the investigator at intervals of 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.

Inclusion Criteria: Healthy children living in social homes among age group specified Exclusion Criteria: Children with poor behavior