[Effect of a tooth-brushing education program on oral health of preschool children].
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effect of tooth-brushing education on the oral health of preschoolers.


METHODS
A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group was used. Two kindergartens were selected and 39 preschoolers from one kindergarten were assigned to the experimental group with tooth-brushing education and 39 from the other kindergarten to the control group. The tooth-brushing education program included 1 session on oral health education, individual tooth-brushing instruction for 1 week and supervised tooth-brushing after lunch for 4 weeks. Oral health behavior including use of tooth paste, tooth-brushing time and method of tooth-brushing, plague, streptococcus mutans, lactobacillus and dental caries were measured before and after the education. Fisher's exact test, t-test and paired t-test with the Window SAS 9.1 program were used to analyze the data.


RESULTS
A significant increase in the use of tooth paste, tooth-brushing time and the practice of correct tooth-brushing and a decrease in plague and development of dental caries were observed in the experimental group.


CONCLUSIONS
This tooth-brushing education was partially effective in improving oral health of preschoolers.
Kang
Bok-Hee
BH
Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, Korea.
Park
Sun-Nam
SN
Sohng
Kyeong-Yae
KY
Moon
Jung-Soon
JS
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*