Self-efficacy theory-based intervention in adolescents: a cluster randomized trial-focus on oral self-care practice and oral self-care skills.

AIM: The cluster randomized trial tested the efficacy of professional dental education for improving oral self-care skills (OSC-S) and oral self-care practice (OSC-P) in adolescents. DESIGN: All 15- to 16-year-old adolescents from four public schools were invited and 206 agreed to participate. Schools were randomly allocated to the intervention group and to the control group. Five sessions were given for the intervention group and one for the control group. The OSC-S and OSC-P outcomes were measured as % Oral Cleanliness Scores at the baseline, 6-month, and 12-month observations. RESULTS: OSC-S and OSC-P correlated significantly (Pearson's) at the baseline (r = 0.777, P < 0.001), at the 6-month (r = 0.745, P < 0.001), and at the 12-month (r = 0.780, P < 0.001) examinations. After the guided oral healthcare interventions, a significant time × group effect was observed (repeated-measures anova, P < 0.001 for the OSC-S (multivariate η2 = 0.355) and for the OSC-P (multivariate η2 = 0.325). CONCLUSION: (i) Oral self-care skills and oral self-care practice scores were significantly correlated, (ii) self-efficacy theory-guided intervention was superior to the conventional dental instruction to improve oral self-care in adolescents, and (iii) varying levels of oral self-care improvement were observed among the intervention group adolescents.

A theory-guided school-based intervention in order to improve adolescents' oral self-care: a cluster randomized trial.

AIM: To evaluate the efficiency of social-cognitive theory-guided oral hygiene interventions in adolescents and to identify predictors of adolescents' self-care practice. DESIGN: A cluster randomized trial included 197 15- to 16-year-olds from two secondary schools. The intervention group received three face-to-face educational hands-on sessions facilitated by a dentist and adolescents worked in pairs. Individual dental plaque levels were measured at baseline, after intervention, at six and at 12 months. The structured questionnaire inquired about gender, family socio-economic status (baseline), and different social-cognitive domain variables (baseline, six, and 12 months). RESULTS: At baseline, there were no statistically significant differences in dental plaque scores between the intervention and control groups (P = 0.183). At the 6-month follow-up, the intervention group had significantly less dental plaque than the control group (P = 0.047), but the intergroup difference in dental plaque levels was not significant at the 12-month follow-up (P = 0.400). Variations in dental plaque levels at different time periods were explained by the following predictors: family's socio-economic status, social-cognitive domain variables, group affiliation, and baseline plaque levels. CONCLUSIONS: Social-cognitive theory-guided interventions improved oral self-care of adolescents in the short term. After the intervention was discontinued, the improvement in oral self-care of adolescents lasted for another 5 months.