Evaluation of Children's Oral Health Education With Different Education Methods

Primary School Children's Oral and Dental Health Knowledge Assessed With Different Educational Methods: A Cross-Sectional Study

Different educational methods may play a crucial role in oral and dental health education programs.

The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of different educational methods on the knowledge levels of primary school children regarding oral and dental health. The null hypothesis of this study is that there is no difference between education methods on the level of knowledge acquired by children about oral and dental health.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dental Caries in Children
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Verbal Explanation; Other: Animation Video Display; Other: Peer-Led Reels Video Display

Detailed Description

This cross-sectional study included 10-11 year old 5th grade students from primary schools located in the center of Tokat, Turkey. The purpose of the study was explained to the school principal, and after obtaining their approval, informed consent forms were sent to the parents. The study was conducted between January and June 2022 in conference halls or classrooms within the schools.

The study questions were developed by 4 expert pediatric dentists after a thorough literature review. The questions were designed to test the children's knowledge of oral and dental health. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part collected demographic data, such as age, gender, and tablet/mobile phone usage. The second part consisted of 8 questions assessing general knowledge about oral and dental health. Each correct answer was scored as 1 point, while incorrect and unanswered questions received 0 points.

In the verbal explanation group, a researcher wearing white coat provided oral and dental health education for 3 minutes using a jaw model.

In the animation group, oral and dental health education was presented to the children in the form of a cartoon lasting 1 minute and 17seconds. The animation video was created by the researcher using the test version of "www.vyond.com". The animation featured a character voiced by one of the researchers, informative texts, and background music. The character conveyed information about oral and dental health education, using both voice and text content.

In the peer-led reels group, oral and dental health information was presented for 1 minute using a video created on the Instagram platform. The video showed oral hygiene information being provided to a child of a similar age to the target audience with the child then demonstrating the behaviour with music in the background. The video included some text, but did not feature the child's voice or information.

All educational methods included the same information about general oral and dental health. Following the education, the children completed the same questionnaire again.

Statistical Analysis Data analysis was conducted using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS for Windows, version 26.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics including number and percentage for categorical data and mean and standard deviation for continuous data were calculated. The normality of the data was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the knowledge levels before and after dental education, while the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to evaluate the effects of group, gender, and tablet/mobile phone usage on the knowledge level at the end of the oral and dental health education. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant in all tests.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 464
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Tokat, Turkey, 60100
    • Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Children aged 10-11 years

Exclusion Criteria:

Mental, visual, or auditory disabilities Not being diagnosed with a syndrome

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Verbal Explanation Group	Other: Verbal Explanation; In the verbal explanation group, a researcher wearing white coat provided oral and dental health education for 3 minutes using a jaw model
Experimental: Animation Group	Other: Animation Video Display; In the animation group, oral and dental health education was presented to the children in the form of a cartoon lasting 1 minute and 17seconds. The animation video was created by the researcher using the test version of "www.vyond.com". The animation featured a character voiced by one of the researchers, informative texts, and background music. The character conveyed information about oral and dental health education, using both voice and text content.
Experimental: Peer-Led Reels Group	Other: Peer-Led Reels Video Display; In the peer-led reels group, oral and dental health information was presented for 1 minute using a video created on the Instagram platform. The video showed oral hygiene information being provided to a child of a similar age to the target audience with the child then demonstrating the behaviour with music in the background. The video included some text, but did not feature the child's voice or information.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
After education knowledge	A questionnaire was administered to the children to measure their oral and dental health knowledge and then educations were given. After the educations, the same questionnaire was applied again to determine how effective these educations were according to the groups and their knowledge levels were evaluated. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part collected demographic data, such as age, gender, and tablet/mobile phone usage. The second part consisted of 8 questions assessing general knowledge about oral and dental health. Each correct answer was scored as 1 point, while incorrect and unanswered questions received 0 points.	1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Canan Bayraktar Nahir, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 15, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 15, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 14, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 21, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): August 26, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 26, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 21, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: children; primary school; dental health education; video-audio demonstration; peer influence
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Stomatognathic Diseases; Tooth Demineralization; Tooth Diseases; Dental Caries
• Other Study ID Numbers: 21-KAEK-275

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: with the link to be prepared later
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Unlimites
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: no criteria
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No