Effectiveness of a dental education program on oral cleanliness of schoolchildren in Israel

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a dental health education program providing dental health information and toothbrushing instruction on oral cleanliness. Two methods of instruction, individual and group instruction, are presented in this study. The plaque situation was assessed in a group of 175 children, 11-14 years of age, by the Patient Hygiene Performance (PHP) method at the beginning of the study and at 1, 2, and 12 months. It was found that immediately after instruction the dental health education program resulted in improved oral hygiene home care for the two experimental groups. However, the improvement noted was achieved regardless of the method of toothbrushing instruction (individual versus group). Moreover, it was demonstrated that maintenance of a satisfactory level of oral hygiene home care was dependent upon review of educational programs and toothbrushing instruction and not related to the method of instruction.