The effect of health promotion program on permanent dental health in elementary students

Jafari A Makvand Gholipour M Soheili R Khoramian Tusi S 1.Research Center for Caries Prevention (RCCP), Dental Research Institute, Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran Corresponding Author: so_khoramian@yahoo.com Background: Considering the necessity of oral health as a part of public health, and the special importance of oral hygiene in school-age children and adolescents as one of the important factors affecting the quality of life, this study aimed to investigate the effect of health promotion program on permanent dental health in students. Primary schools of health promotion and traditional schools of Alborz province have been conducted. Materials and methods: In a descriptive-analytical study, based on the sample size of permanent dental health status, 346, 12-year-old elementary school students in Karaj were evaluated based on DMFT index. Also, demographic data of students and parents were recorded to examine the relationship between indicators and health status. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using Chi square and Independent T Student. Results: The mean caries index was 2.89 in normal school students and 2.49 in health school students, which had no significant effect on the dental caries index of students. The effect of variables on caries index showed that gender, number of toothbrushes, dental visit had a significant effect on caries index, and debris and calculus indices had a significant direct effect on caries rate. Conclusion: Due to the ineffectiveness of the oral health program in the health promoting school in Karaj, the oral health program for schools should be defined and implemented.