Effect of an oral health education curriculum package on knowledge, attitudes and behavior of Kuwait adolescents

ABSTRACT

The effect of a school-based, teacher-mediated oral health education curriculum package on oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior of 11-14 years old Kuwaiti adolescents were assessed by means of a questionnaire. The curriculum package consisted of five simple lessons relating to the various aspects of dental health education. The study included 7664 students. Each student received a curriculum package and an oral hygiene kit including a toothbrush, toothpaste, disclosing tablet and cup for rinsing. Upon completion of the study significant improvements in dental health knowledge and attitude were observed among both sexes with girls showing more significant improvement than boys. However, none of the improvements in the reported oral hygiene behavior were significant at the 5% level. Several reasons for not achieving the desired behavioral changes were elicited. Recommendations to improve the effectiveness of school-based dental health education programs were given