IADR Abstract Archives
Impact of an Intervention on Children's Dental Caries in DPRK
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Children’s Oral Health Promotion Programme (COHPP) on dental caries among primary school children in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea during six years follow-up time.
Method:
The intervention in this study has been the COHPP targeting kindergarten and primary school children in Pyongyang and Jongju as part of the development collaboration. Group I received intensified prevention, group II represented prevention provided generally at Pyongyang and Jongju schools and kindergartens (table 1). Dentists performed clinical dental examinations at baseline and during the follow-ups.
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year 2007 |
year 2010 |
year 2013 |
GROUP I (n=250) |
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Data collection |
7 years old |
10 years old |
13 years old |
Interventions |
Toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste delivered x2/year |
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Health education for teachers |
|
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Counselling and health education materials for children x2/year |
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GROUP II (n=250) |
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Data collection |
|
7 years old |
10 years old |
Interventions |
Toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste delivered x2/year/kindergarten |
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Health education for kindergarten teachers and caregivers |
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Counselling and health education materials for children x2/year |
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Table 1. Description of the study design
Result:
Mean number of decayed teeth (dt+DT) decreased in both groups during the follow-up. In group I: from 1.07 (SD 0,65) in 2007 (7-years-old) to 0.38 (SD 0,56) in 2010 (10-years-old) and to 0.26 (SD 0,45) in 2013 (13-years-old) and in group II: from 0,80 (SD 0,64) in 2010 (7-years- old) to 0.20 (SD 0,40) in 2013 (10-years-old).
Conclusion:
The programme as a whole seemed to be effective in preventing dental caries. The more intensified intervention showed no additional benefit compared to the less intensified intervention. The programme has increased the overall awareness on caries prevention and promoted self care practices resulting in improved dental health. Implementation of the programme to the whole country and continuous evaluation are important in the future.