The Effect of DHE with Demonstration Method on Children's knowledge

Objective: The results of Indonesian National Basic Health Survey in the year 2007 showed that the prevalence of oral health problems in children aged 6-12 years old was 69% and only 27.4% of them received treatment. Basically, oral health knowledge should be given as early age as possible, so that the children may understand the importance of maintaining and improving their oral health. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of dental health education modified with a demonstration method on the knowledge of school age children. Method: This study was an experimental study with pre and post test design. Fifty-one school students aged 11 – 12 years old were recruited in this study. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire on their oral health knowledge before and after intervention using DHE with demonstration.  Result: The result showed that the means (± standard deviations) of students’ knowledge scores before and after intervention were 34.6 (±3.1) and 38.2 (±3.2) respectively.  Data analysis were using paired t-test, and the result showed that students knowledge score was significantly enhanced after DHE with demonstration (P< 0.001). Conclusion: The delivery of DHE using demonstration method gave a significant improvement to student's knowledge on oral health.