ABSTRACT
Background: In Malaysia, preschool teachers have longbeen utilised as oral health educators. However their levelof oral health knowledge and effectiveness of the trainingthey received are seldom investigated. This study aims toevaluate the of oral health education seminar (OHE) heldfor public preschool teachers (KEMAS) in terms of theimprovement of their knowledge, practices and attitudesMethods: This was a one arm interventional study (beforeand after survey following OHE seminar intervention). AllKEMAS preschool teachers (n=107) in Hulu Terengganuwere invited to attend OHE seminar which consisted of1 hour lecture and 40 minutes OHE demonstration. Pretestquestionnaire was collected before the seminar startedand post-test questionnaire was collected two weeks later.A self-administered questionnaire used in this study wasadapted from “preschool teachers’ knowledge, practicesand attitudes towards oral health”, National Oral HealthSurvey of Preschool Children, 2005. Data were analysedusing descriptive and McNemar test, SPSS version 15.0.Results: Of 107 subjects, only 61 teachers respondedyielding to 57% response rate. All subjects were femalewith mean age of 46 years (SD: 6.03). Overall, therewas an improvement of teachers’ oral health knowledge,practices and attitudes after the seminar. Severalitems seem to have be improved significantly after theseminar, for example knowledge item on factors causingperiodontal disease (p=0.03). In terms of practice, allteachers reported they brushed teeth at least twice dailyusing fluoridated toothpaste and use of dental floss wasincreased significantly after the seminar (p<0.001).Majority of teachers have positive perceptions on theirroles in oral health education. Conclusion: Oral healtheducation seminar appeared to be effective at influencingcertain aspects of teachers’ oral health knowledge,practices and attitudes.