Assessing the effectiveness of a school-based oral health promotion programme

Objectives: To assess the outcome of oral health promotion on school children over a three-year period in Yichang City, PR China. Methods: The concept of the WHO Health Promoting Schools Project was applied for primary schoolchildren. Seven experimental and eight control schools were randomly selected from one district and the study was conducted as a 3-year follow-up. After three years, 661 children remained in the experimental groups and 697 children in control groups. Data on dental caries and gingival bleeding were collected by clinical examination and behavioural data by use of self-administered questionnaires. Results: At the follow-up, the experimental group had a 32% and 25% reduction in DMFS and DMFT respectively compared to the control group that was statistically significant. The percentages of children who received filling or sealant in experimental group were higher than those in control group. The gingival bleeding score was significantly lower for experimental children than that for control children. More children in experimental schools adopted regular oral health behaviour such as toothbrushing at least twice a day, dental visits within the last year, use of fluoride toothpaste compared to children of control schools. Conclusions: The study suggested that the school-based oral health promotion programme was an effective way in reducing the increment of dental caries, in improving oral hygiene, and in establishing positive oral health behaviours in the Chinese school children.