title: Educating parents of children receiving comprehensive dental care under general anesthesia with visual AIDS.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine if educating parents with visual aids after their child's treatment under general anesthesia would improve attendance at follow-up appointments, oral health outcomes, and treatment satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four parent-child dyads were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. The control group received verbal education, and the intervention group received verbal and visual education. Oral health was measured using the Gingival Index and the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) before and after the treatment. Parent surveys were administered before and after treatment. MResults: Seventy-eight percent of the intervention group and 52 percent of the control group returned for follow-up appointments (P=.04). The plaque index decreased (P<.01); the reported brushing frequency increased for all children from baseline to follow-up visit (P=.02). The satisfaction increased only for parents in the intervention group over time (P=.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Using visual aids had a positive impact on patient attendance at follow-up and parents' treatment satisfaction. There was an improvement in oral hygiene, as measured by the OHI-S, and an increase in brushing frequency for all children, regardless of whether their parents were educated with or without a visual aid.
authors.affiliation: Private practitioner, Ann Arbor, Mich., USA; Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, in the School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Aimee J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.affiliation: University of Adelaide, and consultant, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Maria Regina
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Estrella
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, in the School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boynton
authors.affiliation: Private practitioner, Novi, Mich., USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA; Department of Psychology, College of Literature, Science and Arts (LS&A), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich, USA. mri@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Marita Rohr
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Inglehart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003190:Comprehensive Dental Care; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006267:Health Education, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D014099:Toothbrushing; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult