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School-Based Intervention to Promote Tooth Brushing

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

This intervention used supervised tooth brushing with high fluoridated toothpaste on school days to prevent dental caries among high-risk children. The program was aimed at five-year-old children and their parents, who served as brushing supervisors. After lunch each school day, children brushed their teeth under the supervision of a local parent. Brushing supervisors acted as a contact to families, encouraged children to brush effectively, and awarded individual children weekly certificates for being a good tooth-brusher. Participants in the program were given a new novelty toothbrush and toothpaste to take home over the holidays. Parents received a letter including a tooth-brushing chart with adhesive stars to mark boxes for the day an time that children brushed their teeth. After the holidays children received a small gift for returning the chart. Children also received dental examinations every six months.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this intervention was to reduce dental caries among children by promoting twice daily tooth brushing.

Impact

Supervised tooth brushing and positive reinforcement in a school setting decreased the rate of dental caries in participating children.

Results / Accomplishments

The intervention was evaluated using a randomized controlled trial comparing the supervised brushing group with a control group that received no intervention other than dental examinations every six months. At the end of the two year study, significantly fewer caries developed in the first permanent molars of the intervention group at both D1 and D3 levels when compared to the control group (p < 0.02). The children in the intervention group had 32% fewer D1 lesions (95% CI: 4-60%) and 56% fewer D3 lesions (95% CI: 13-101%) in their first permanent molars than children in the non-intervention group. Children who had no first permanent molars erupted at baseline were more likely to remain caries-free on these teeth during the study, when compared to children with at least one erupted molar.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Liverpool University Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry
Primary Contact
Cynthia Pine
Institute of Dentistry
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5PS
UK
+44(0)207 882 8636
c.m.pine@qmul.ac.uk
http://www.dentistry.qmul.ac.uk/staff/professorcyn...
Topics
Health / Children's Health
Health / Oral Health
Organization(s)
Liverpool University Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry
Source
Caries Research
Date of publication
2002
Location
Scotland
For more details
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12218280
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/dentistry/
Target Audience
Children

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Related Content for: School-Based Intervention to Promote Tooth Brushing

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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