Effectiveness of oral hygiene training and education programs among Anganwadi workers in improving mother and child oral hygiene. A cross-sectional study.

Background: An Anganwadi worker comes under the Integrated Child Development Scheme and is responsible for the health welfare of children and women belonging to the rural, urban, and tribal regions. The present study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of oral hygiene training and educational programs among Anganwadi workers for the improvement of mother as well as child oral hygiene.

Materials and methods: This was a prospective, intervention-based, and cross-sectional study carried out on 100 preschool children. The age range of children was between 3 and 5 years, of which 65 were males and 35 were females. The participants were divided in two groups: 1) Group I: Interventional group (50 mother-child pairs) and 2) Group II: Control group (50 mother-child pairs). The oral hygiene trainingwas imparted to Anganwadi workers using oral health-related educational aids likeposters, pamphlets, booklets, or plaster models for the intervention group, while oral health education was provided to the controls. The assessment of baseline knowledge on oral health among mothers was done by prevalidated 17-itemed questionnaire. Maternal knowledge regarding oral health was assessed using questionnaires on third and sixth month intervals. Oral hygiene of the children was assessed using Oral Hygiene Index Simplified-Modified (OHIS-M) at baselineand 3^rd and 6^th months in preschool children by a single investigator under natural light. The collected data were entered in Microsoft excel worksheets and analyzed by SPSS software version 20.0.

Results: Before intervention (baseline), 30.1% mothers in the study group and 27.2% mothers in the control group answered questionnaire items correctly. However, no statistical significance (P = 0.23) was obtained. At 3^rd month assessment, the response in the intervention group increased till 48.2%, whereas in the control group, it was found to be 34.02% with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.35). At the 6^th month interval, the response had increased till 69.9% and 48.02% in intervention and control groups, respectively (P = 0.02). Oral hygiene status assessment using mean ± SD. OHIS-M scores in children was assessed at baselineand 3 and 6 months. Thus, a continuous decrease in mean ± SD. OHIS-M scores was found in both the study group and controls.

Conclusion: Statistically significant improvement in knowledge of mothersand oral hygiene of children was noted after the they received training from Anganwadi workers regarding oral health care.