[Effect of role modeling through theater show in oral health education]

There are different methods of oral health education for child population. Theater show is a method that has not received enough attention until now. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of using theater show on dental health education in Yazd femal elementary students. This was a quasi experimental study performed by using pre- and post-test method in Iran over the year 2004. One elementary school from each region of the city was selected. Twenty students from each grade of each school were included in the study [n=200]. The information on knowledge, attitudes and practice of oral health were collected by using a valid and reliable questionnaire before and after theater show performance. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Wilcoxon signed rank test. This study showed that the theater show could improve knowledge, attitude and proper oral health practice of children. The effect of the theater show on knowledge was more than attitude and was more on attitude than practice [P<0.001]. Only literacy on the part of mothers was significantly correlated with practice [P=0.021]. There were significant correlations between Knowledge [P=0.020], Attitude [P=0.0001] and oral health Practice [P=0.022] with students' grade level. This study showed that using theater show for oral health education, could improve the oral health related knowledge, attitude and proper oral health practice by elementary school students

[Evaluation of the prevalence and causes of halitosis]

Evaluation of the prevalence and causes of bad breath [Halitosis] has engaged mans mind for centuries. In ancient medical literature, there have been some remarks about halitosis as well as suggestions for its treatment. Halitosis is not a disease by itself. This condition is a symptom of disease. Halitosis can be produced by three factors: Intra-and extra oral factor, and delusional halitosis. The aim of the investigation was to evaluate the prevalence and causes of halitosis. Four hundred patients referring to oral medicine clinics of the dental school of Yazd participated in this study. Prevalence of halitosis was 28%. 29% of these subjects were female and 28% were male. There was no significant difference between males and females [P> 0.05]. The most common intra oral causes of halitosis were dental carries [89%], food-impaction and other retentive factors [72%], periodontal pocket [71%] and coated tongue [60%]. Sinusitis [60%] was the most common extra oral cause of halitosis. The correlation between different age groups and halitosis was not significant [P>0.05]. The correlation between education and halitosis was also not significant [P>0.05]. This study also revealed that 68% of patients were aware of their bad breath. The most common causes of halitosis are intra oral, which can be prevented by appropriate treatment, education and increased public awareness

[Clinical evaluation of efficacy of two children's toothbrushes in reducing of dental plaque in children aged 7-9 years]

Plaque control by mechanical and chemical methods are the most important measures in prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases. In mechanical plaque control, toothbrush is the most efficient mean for removing dental plaque. The aim of this single blind and cross over study was to compare the plaque removing efficacy of two manual toothbrushes, Oral-B and Mojan. 37 children [7-9 years old] were selected. Subjects refrained from all oral hygiene procedures for 24 hours. In the first visit, dental plaque was measured by means of Shick and Ash index before and after one-minute brushing with one of the test brushes. Children were instructed to use their routine oral hygiene methods and return to the clinic one-week later. In the second visit, the other brush was assigned to each subject and all the procedures repeated again. Paired T-test showed significant differences in PI before and after brushing with each toothbrush [P<0.00009 for Mojan and P<0.000011 for Oral-B], but the result indicated no significant differences in reduction of PI between the two brushes. Therefore, both brushes were equally effective in reducing PI. However, more investigation is required for finding out the other characteristics of these toothbrushes

investigation on oral health and hygiene knowledge among health system personnel of Yazd and Taft in 2000

Hygiene training is considered as the first step in health care as well as the most important duty of the health system personnel who are responsible to offer the initial health principles in rural socities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of health system personnel on oral hygiene in Yazd and Taft in 2000. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, data were collected from 134 subjects [62 males and 72 females] through a questionnaire including 16 questions about tooth structure, primary dentition and principles of oral hygiene instruction. Results were analyzed using SPSS software and t-test. In 58.5% of the subjects, the knowledge was good and in 29.6% the knowledge was fair, 11.9% had poor knowledge, t-test showed statistically significant relationship between knowledge and gender attributing more knowledge to females than males [P.V=0.002]. Knowledge was declined by increasing age and ANOVA statishtical test showed significant differences between variouse age groups [P.V=0.0001]. There were not any significant differences between groups according to service record and training place although with increasing service record, knowledge has declined. Despite a lot of shortages, the knowledge level of Yazd health system personnel generally second to be good on oral health topics