DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION CAMP REPORT:
AIMS:
The main objective of the camp is to provide basic dental health education to the school children and motivate dental hygiene maintenance.
OBJECTIVE:
1.This camp is carried out with the curiosity to find out the prevalence of dental diseases in primary school children with deciduous dentition and early mixed dentition.
2. To identify the method to motivate dental health in young generation and cultivate dental hygiene for the future society.
A sample of overall 1000 school children from 3 different schools were chosen in the academic year 2004-2005. Three schools belonged to a cosmopolitan city and with 3 living classes in the same zone and living condition.
SCHOOL 1. It is a very small school with total strength of about 300 children from pre KG, KG and grade 1 and 2. Children were from a background that about 40% of parents had below average income group and low literacy level.
SCHOOL2. It is an average size school with a mixed group of children, most of the parents were moderately literate and average income group.
SCHOOL 3. It is one of the top schools of the city with very high strength and had a massive group, with parents of high income class and high educational background.
Three different methods were adopted in educating and motivating techniques.
Method :1
It is a simple program of conducting a screening camp with the help of school teachers who would give them oral hygiene instruction and a report card was given to every child with oral hygiene instruction.
Method 2:
It is a program with a lecture note and a screening camp, the lecture note was about the dental health, brushing methods and was delivered by dental auxiliaries and dentist. Also conducting a screening camp with the help of school teachers who would give them oral hygiene instruction and a report card was given to every child with oral hygiene instruction.
Method 3:
It had three session an interactive session that is every child is given an opportunity to speak about dental health , the dentist corrected the wrong concepts or the misunderstandings and guided their speech every moment . It had delivery of the concepts through interactive methods and motivating with a gift for every correct answers. The second session had a bright smile contest, a drawing and coloring contest where they applied the knowledge acquired from the interactive session. The third session is the screening camp, a report card was given to every child with oral hygiene instruction. And prize distribution to the winners of the contest. This is supported by COLGATE with dental health packs consisting of tooth paste and a junior brush provided to every children.
INFERENCE:
FOR SCHOOL 1, WITH METHOD 1
1.About 81% of children needed treatment and 14% needed counseling on dental health maintenance either of orthodontic or gingival diseases or caries..
In treatment needs 12% will develop malocclusion in permanent dentition, 3% had gingival problems and poor oral maintenance. Rest 85% of children had dental caries.
2. Children were less curious and had a fear barrier and had good response on personal interaction but very low grasping of the concepts.
SCHOOL 2 AND METHOD 2
1. About 62 % of children needed treatment and 9% needed counseling on dental health maintenance either of orthodontic or gingival diseases or caries..
In treatment needs 11% will develop malocclusion in permanent dentition, 5% had gingival problems and poor oral maintenance. Rest 84% of children had dental caries.
2. Children were comparatively more curious and had a fear barrier and had moderate response on personal interaction but good grasping of the concepts.
SCHOOL3 AND METHOD 3
1. About 72 % of children needed treatment and 15% needed counseling on dental health maintenance either of orthodontic or gingival diseases or caries..
In treatment needs 21% will develop malocclusion in permanent dentition 4% had developed malocclusion in deciduous dentition , 15% had gingival problems and poor oral maintenance. 81 % of children had dental caries. 2% had restorations
2.Childen had very active participation in all the sessions and with the support from Colgate they applied the taught brushing technical with the new brush the very same night . The result was immediate to observe in the screening session.
CONCLUSION
1. It was evident that the treatment needs were high in school 1 and 3 groups. Though all the school had insisted a lot on proper uniform cleanliness, cut nails, trimmed hair, properly pressed uniforms and polished shoes, the oral hygiene seems to be a neglected part in the school children it is observed with the back up free consultation and very minimal treatment cost notified to the parents the response from the parents seem to be only 2% from school 1, 8% from school 2 and 48% from school 3. Parents consulted us in the campus and over phone call, with in a day of the follow up.
2. Motivation through method 3 was excellent because every children informed us during screening about them using the new paste and brush from Colgate. And asked personally to clean the cavities. The motive of the Dental health camp was achieved to its maximum with method 3.
******************************************************************************************
A work framed and executed BY Dr. JAISRI RAJESH BABU out of personal interest and inspired by MY PROFESSORS, MY 5 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND MY HUSBAND.
Dr. Jaisri
Bangalore.1dentist.com