Methods: Workshops were arranged for 102 secondary school students and 10 teachers in a dental teaching hospital. Prior to the workshop, the participants were asked some multiple choice questions related to bacteria, biofilm, pH, and common oral diseases (tooth decay and gum disease) to assess their knowledge. Then, they were provided a short lecture on the concepts of bacteria, biofilm and infectious disease followed by hands-on practical related to the aforementioned topics. Following the workshop, participants' feedback was collected.
Results: The participants' knowledge before the workshop was fair as 35-77% of them knew the pH of different common drinks. Most of the students answered that bacteria are always present in the mouth (81%) and that biofilm is a structured collection of bacteria (60%). The participants unanimously rated all elements of the workshop (mini-lecture, hands-on practical, and teaching materials) as satisfactory, with over 95% of the ratings being “very good” and “excellent”. Almost all (over 96%) participants agreed that the workshop was fun, had evoked students' interest in science and had enhanced their understanding of science concepts. Over 92% of the teachers regarded what they had learnt from the workshop as useful and practical, and intended to use the dental examples and materials in teaching science at their schools. Participants' comments included: the workshop was “well designed” and “very innovative and interesting”, and had provided them “an enriched learning experience”.
Conclusions: This study demonstrated the potential role dental professionals can play in enriching secondary school science learning and may evoke future efforts in knowledge exchange with the communities.