IADR Abstract Archives
Oral health promotion through oral health promoting schools
Objectives: Oral health reform has been started in Iran since 2015 with children being at the focus of attention. Although, oral diseases are prevalent, they are preventable conditions at the same time. Schools are being considered as important platforms for oral health promotion worldwide. Focus on schoolchildren can prevent suffering, reduce inequity, and create many years of healthy and productive adulthood later in life. With envision of best results, we explored for the best evidence available on school-based oral health promotion programs around the world. We believe the results of this investigations would be applicable to many developing countries who have limited resources.
Methods: The PubMed database was used to access published English peer reviewed articles from January 1980 to December 2015, focusing on primary-school-age children. This search strategy was limited to titles and abstracts containing the following keyword.
Results: Through PubMed search, 23 publications were qualified to remain out of 298 identified articles. Further assessment showed that 80% of those studies were from “High-income” and “Upper-middle-income” countries, while the remaining 20% were carried out in “Lower-middle- income” and “Low-income” countries. Of all oral health related activities implemented in schools, oral health education was mentioned in most studies, followed by supervised tooth brushing, provision of nutritious food, multimedia game or campaign, inclusion of oral health topics in regular classroom activities by teachers/educating school teachers on basic oral health topics, and administration of fluoride (varnish/gel).
Conclusions: This comprehensive review demonstrated the importance of choosing the most cost-effective and evidence based interventions for successful oral health promotion and disease prevention programs in school. The “Oral Health Promoting Schools” with relevant guideline inspired by international best practice experience may be the most logical model to facilitate obtaining the best outcomes especially in developing countries with limited resources.
Methods: The PubMed database was used to access published English peer reviewed articles from January 1980 to December 2015, focusing on primary-school-age children. This search strategy was limited to titles and abstracts containing the following keyword.
Results: Through PubMed search, 23 publications were qualified to remain out of 298 identified articles. Further assessment showed that 80% of those studies were from “High-income” and “Upper-middle-income” countries, while the remaining 20% were carried out in “Lower-middle- income” and “Low-income” countries. Of all oral health related activities implemented in schools, oral health education was mentioned in most studies, followed by supervised tooth brushing, provision of nutritious food, multimedia game or campaign, inclusion of oral health topics in regular classroom activities by teachers/educating school teachers on basic oral health topics, and administration of fluoride (varnish/gel).
Conclusions: This comprehensive review demonstrated the importance of choosing the most cost-effective and evidence based interventions for successful oral health promotion and disease prevention programs in school. The “Oral Health Promoting Schools” with relevant guideline inspired by international best practice experience may be the most logical model to facilitate obtaining the best outcomes especially in developing countries with limited resources.