The effectiveness of oral health promotion among 4th - 5th year primary school students at a primary school in Yala province

Abstract

            Dental caries is a problem which most found in primary school students due to poor behaviors on food consumption and dental health care. This study was a follow up study as one - group pretest - posttest design. The purposes of this study were to determine levels and compare scores of oral health knowledge and behaviors and to evaluate amounts of dental plaque. Forty - five students from 4^th - 5^th primary school students at Muang district, Yala province participated in the study. The students were intervened by receiving dental health knowledge, examining dental plaque index and following for 1 year. Data were collected by using self - reported questionnaires and examined the dental hygiene by using dental plaque index record form. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and paired samples t – test.

              The pre - post test results showed that after a year the oral health knowledge scores significantly increased (p-value < 0.001). However, oral health behaviors, particularly sweet food consumption and tooth brush after meal significantly decreased in these students (p-value = 0.04). Dental plaque was also increased (p-value < 0.001).

              Increasing oral health knowledge alone was not enough to affect oral health behaviors. Then stimulating good improvement on oral health knowledge should giving actions, attitude, perception of threatened dental diseases, having strict practices towards oral health care and also including teachers and parents participation on oral health care may help to reduce the oral health problems in students.