Evaluation of Oral and Dental Hygiene in Students: Film- and Lecture-based Educational Intervention

Aim: Oral health is among the important components of individual general health that affects the health of entire body. This study aims at investigating the effect of educational intervention on the primary school student's oral health.
This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 175 primary school students recruited randomly from different regions of Dehloran City during the school year of 2014-15. The testimonial was obtained after holding briefings for the parents. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire, which was administrated at baseline and 3 months after the intervention. The content validity was approved by the expert panel and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed by SPSS software 18, inferential statistical tests, and paired t-test. This study was supported by the HSR Council and the Ethics Committee of Ilam University of Medical Sciences.
Findings: The results indicated significant changes in the sample's knowledge (from 3.6±1.37 to 4.98± 1.57), attitude (from 28.17±5.7 to 30.98±6.35) and behavior (15.03 ±2.98 to 17.08 ±2.60) after the intervention.
The positive results of educational intervention indicate that the education through appropriate methods can improve student's behavior in the field of oral health. Therefore, it is suggested more emphasis on oral health education at school age.