Using oral hygiene education in schools to tackle child tooth decay: a mixed methods study with children and teachers in England

Tooth decay is the most common reason for non- emergency hospital admissions in 5-9 year olds. As such, it is included in the England school curriculum at 8-9 years to facilitate improved oral hygiene and prevent tooth decay. Measure student and teacher baseline oral hygiene knowledge; determine eff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biological education 2020-08, Vol.54 (4), p.381-395
Main Authors: Eley, Cv, Weston-Price, S, Young, Vl, Hoekstra, B, Gadhia, T, Muirhead, V, Robinson, L, Pine, C, McNulty, Cam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child Health
Dental Health
e-Bug
education
Elementary School Students
Elementary School Teachers
Food
Foreign Countries
Health Promotion
Knowledge Level
oral health
Oral hygiene
Prevention
Program Effectiveness
Teacher Attitudes
tooth decay
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Summary:Tooth decay is the most common reason for non- emergency hospital admissions in 5-9 year olds. As such, it is included in the England school curriculum at 8-9 years to facilitate improved oral hygiene and prevent tooth decay. Measure student and teacher baseline oral hygiene knowledge; determine effect of the e-Bug oral hygiene lesson on student knowledge; explore teacher views on the lesson. Mixed methods evaluation. Baseline student and teacher knowledge questionnaires. Intervention classes received the e-Bug lesson. Post-intervention student questionnaires and semi-structured teacher focus groups. 121 students completed baseline questionnaire - results indicate high knowledge about which foods/drinks are bad for teeth; low knowledge about tooth decay and appropriate tooth brushing behaviours; confusion over what foods and drinks contained sugar. 58 students received the intervention; 10 out of 17 questions in lessons showed significant increase in correct responses (p 
ISSN:0021-9266
2157-6009
DOI:10.1080/00219266.2019.1585380