title: Evaluation of a 7-year school-based community dental hygiene programme in Portugal by high school teachers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To obtain high school teachers evaluation of a Community Dental Hygiene programme, developed as part of a clinical trial designed to assess the safety of low-level mercury exposure from amalgam restorations.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire to assess programme evaluation, personal opinion on programme relevance and satisfaction with activities was distributed among teachers. It had a total of 22 questions organized into three groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 25 questionnaires were obtained from teachers who participated in the programme. Ninety-two per cent of the respondents had a positive opinion concerning the existence of the programme. Eighty-eight per cent of the teachers believed that the programme changed student's knowledge about dental hygiene. Ninety-two per cent of teachers supported the existence of the programme and 88% of them disagreed with a statement that participation in the programme was a waste of time. Teachers who did not collaborate actively with dental hygiene activities indicated belief that the programme affected school activities (P = 0.003). Teachers who actively participated in the programme believe that dental hygiene activities were important for students (P = 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Teacher evaluations of this kind of programme are critical for the development of school-based Dental Hygiene Education programmes. Teachers believe that Dental Hygiene Education is crucial for students' well-being.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dental Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal. hoformacao@fmd.ul.pt
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Assunção
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Luis
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leroux
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Derouen
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Leitão
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000193:education*; D011174:Portugal; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012571:School Dentistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching