Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of a school-based experiential education programme on oral health status, knowledge and behaviour among a group of schoolchildren in Bucharest.
Materials and methods: The study was part of an Erasmus+ project that focused on oral health promotion in schools and covered a 2-year period. Data were collected from 120 teenagers from three schools in Bucharest, Romania. At baseline, all subjects were clinically examined and received a questionnaire. They were split into two groups at baseline: a test group with 76 schoolchildren and a control group with 44 schoolchildren. The schoolchildren included in the test group received three experiential lessons. After every lesson, they filled in the same questionnaire. At the end, all subjects were clinically examined again.
Results: The prevalence of dental caries was increased in the control group by 8.58% (N = 3, P = 0.31) and decreased in the test group by 1.64% (N = 1, P = 0.8). Regarding incipient carious lesions, a higher decrease was observed in the test group (D1-2 S: 0.78 vs 0.63, P = 0.867). There was a statistically significant plaque index decrease in the test group (1.32 vs 1.12; P = 0.01) and an increase in the control group (1.15 vs 1.79; P = 0.0001). More children from the test group (N = 5, 7.9%, P = 0.225) adopted twice-daily tooth brushing compared to the control group (N = 1, 2.9%, P = 0.52).
Conclusions: In the group studied, the oral health programme had positive effects on oral health status, oral health knowledge and behaviour among adolescents.
Keywords: experiential learning; oral health education; teenagers.
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