Analysis of the effectiveness of school programs for the prevention of dental diseases: a literature review

Relevance. The high prevalence of dental diseases worldwide and their cumulative process from an early age entail effective strategies for healthy habits promotion. Schools are recommended to include oral health education programs in the curricula to develop a positive attitude to oral hygiene among students. The aim was to review the effectiveness of implementing programs in the school curricula to reduce the dental disease level among schoolchildren.Materials and methods. The research chose programs aimed at improving the dental health of schoolchildren. We considered educational measures on oral health protection, carried out by dentists, nurses or teachers within school programs and curative and preventive measures for schoolchildren aged 6-18 years. We searched the publications on the given topic published between 1999 and 2021 in the database e-LIBRARY.ru and  between 2016 and 2021 in the PubMed database. When selecting articles, the full-text study was compulsory to check the article conformance degree to the inclusion criteria.Results. According to the keyword search, we found 76 publications in the database e-LIBRARY.ru. After the exclusion of duplicates and articles nonconforming to the selection criteria, the review included seven publications. Four studies revealed caries reduction, and two studies demonstrated the improvement of oral hygiene. In the PubMed database, 419 publications were found according to the keyword query. The analysis of the effectiveness of school dental programs included 12 articles. Four studies detected oral hygiene improvement, seven studies – caries reduction, and six studies – dental knowledge and skill improvement.Conclusions. According to Russian and international studies, education without curative and preventive measures isn't effective in dental disease prevention in schoolchildren. Along with instructions and training in practical oral hygiene skills, schoolchildren should use fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride varnish application and fissure sealing are the most effective measures in risk groups.