Preliminary analysis of oral health promotion program among school-aged children in rural areas of Guangxi

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of oral health promotion program in oral health-related knowledge,behaviors and eating habits in school-aged children in rural areas of Guangxi.Methods A total of 745 first-graders in 15 selected schools chosed in rural areas of Guangxi.Questionnaire surveys were conducted before and after oral health promotion program for one year to evaluate the effectiveness of oral health intervention.Results Awareness of oral heath knowledge was all statistically improved after oral health promotion program.Before the program,brushing duration,brushing times,fluoride preventing tooth decay,plain water is best for drinking,sugar being bad for teeth was respectively 35.70%,37.99%,28.86%,54.50%,76.24% and 78.39%,which was improved by 6.98%,23.35%,27.38%,12.88%,13.56% and 10.07%,respectively after intervention.As for oral health behavior,brushing teeth every morning and evening,brushing for 2 to 3 minutes,using fluoride toothpaste was respectively 25.91%,44.43% and 23.62% before intervention and was improved by 12.61%,12.89% and 14.90%,respectively,after intervention.Drinking cola or sprite,eating cookies or cakes or bread,eating sweets or chocolates more than once every day was respectively 81.34%,77.18% and 83.22% before intervention and had decrease by 4.29%,9.26% and 12.08%,respectively after intervention with statistically significant difference (P<0.05).Conclusion Oral health promotion program is effectively improving oral health-based knowledge and eating behaviors among rural low grade students in Guangxi.