Evaluation of the effectiveness of an educational-preventive activity with preschoolers
pilot study for a randomized clinical trial
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7308/aodontol/2013.49.3.02Keywords:
Dental care for children, Dental plaque index, Periodontal indexAbstract
Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational-preventive oral health activity involving preschoolers.
Materials and Methods: Thirty-eight children, three to five years of age, were randomly allocated into two groups: experimental (EG) and control (CG). The initial visible plaque index (VPI), initial gingival bleeding index (GBI), and dmft index were determined, and a questionnaire was filled out by the parents/guardians. The children from E participated in an educational- preventive activity (EPA), while those from C did not participate in the activity. The EPA consisted of oral health education and supervised tooth brushing. The outcomes of the final VPI and the final GBI were determined after the fourth week of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed considering a 5% level of significance. The effect magnitude was calculated in order to compare the groups and different evaluation times.
Results: Significant differences could be observed between groups E and C regarding the final VPI and the final GBI (p = 0.005 and 0.004, respectively), which was confirmed by the high effect magnitude for final visible plaque. At the end of the study, a significant reduction in visible plaque was found in E (p = 0.001), as confirmed by the high effect magnitude. In C, significant increases were found in both visible plaque and gingival bleeding at the end of the study (p < 0.001 and p = 0.043, respectively).
Conclusion: The educational-preventive activity proved effective in reducing visible plaque and gingival bleeding. However, periodic motivation should be given to maintain oral health. Moreover, the participation of parents/guardians in such actions, in addition to strengthening the results achieved with the children, can favor the entire nuclear family.
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