Effectiveness of an oral health education and caries prevention program in kindergartens in China.

Community Dent Oral Epidemiol

Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Stomatology, Peking University, Beijing, China.

Published: December 2003

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of a 2-year oral health education and caries prevention program implemented in kindergartens in China.

Methods: Seven hundred and thirty-one 3-year-old children were recruited from 10 kindergartens in Miyun County, Beijing, China. The kindergartens were randomly divided into two groups. Oral health education was provided to teachers in the test kindergartens every 3 months. Oral health education sessions were conducted for the test children monthly and for their parents semiannually. Children in the test kindergarten brushed their teeth twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste (1100 ppm F-) in their kindergarten under the supervision of teachers during weekdays. No oral health education session and no supervised tooth brushing activities were carried out in the control kindergartens. A clinical examination of the study children and a questionnaire survey of their parents were conducted at baseline and after a 2-year program.

Results: Five hundred and fourteen children remained in the study after 2 years. The mean caries increments of the test group (n = 258) and the control group (n = 256) were 2.47 and 3.56 dmfs, respectively. The reduction in dmfs increment was 30.6% (P = 0.009). At the evaluation, a significantly higher percentage of children in the test group than in the control group reported brushing their teeth twice a day (87.6% vs. 69.0%; P < 0.001). Parents of children in the test group had better oral health knowledge and attitude than the parents of children in the control group.

Conclusion: This oral health education program was effective in establishing good oral health habits among preschool children and in increasing oral health knowledge of their parents, in conjunction with supervised daily tooth brushing with fluoridated toothpaste, which could reduce the development of new dental caries in preschool children in China.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1600-0528.2003.00040.xDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

oral health
36
health education
24
children test
12
test group
12
children
10
health
9
education caries
8
caries prevention
8
prevention program
8
oral
8

Similar Publications

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition that can lead to problems swallowing. Individuals living with PD may be unable to take medications orally for various reasons including acute or chronic dysphagia, non-PD related causes and being placed nil-by-mouth for elective reasons. This article outlines a five-step approach to managing an individual living with PD who is unable to take oral medication acutely.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Oral frailty in older adults can affect their eating efficiency, prolonging meal times, which can compromise food flavour.

Objective: This study explored the association between cooking methods and chewing-to-swallowing time on the basis of different oral functions in older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 65 community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 65 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Efficacy of Orthognathic Surgery in OSAS Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

J Oral Rehabil

January 2025

Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMATS), Saveetha University, Chennai, India.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a prevalent condition characterised by repeated episodes of partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep, leading to disrupted sleep and associated morbidities. Orthognathic surgery (OGS) has been proposed as a treatment option for OSAS, aimed at anatomically repositioning the maxillofacial structures to alleviate airway obstruction. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy of OGS in reducing apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) scores among OSAS patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Surface electromyography (sEMG) has been used in a wide range of studies conducted in the field of dysphagia.

Objectives: The main aim of this case-control study is to obtain how submental and infrahyoid sEMG signals differ based on residue, penetration and aspiration.

Methods: A total of 100 participants (50 patients with suspected dysphagia and 50 healthy controls) were enrolled in the present study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Isoferulic acid (IA), a derivative of cinnamic acid, is derived from Danshen and exhibits anticancer properties by disrupting cancer cell activities. However, its role in pancreatic cancer, the "king of cancer", was unknown. In this study, pancreatic cancer cells were subjected to treatment with IA (6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!