Single fathers' experiences of using egg donation and surrogacy to start a family.

STUDY QUESTION: What are the experiences of single men using egg donation and surrogacy as a route to parenthood? SUMMARY ANSWER: The fathers mainly had a positive relationship with the surrogate and simultaneously exercised agency, and experienced challenges, during the process of surrogacy. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Little is known about single men's experiences of egg donation and surrogacy arrangements. Studies have focused on single men's decision-making processes about the use of surrogacy and family functioning once these families are formed. Questions remain about how fathers experience and navigate the process of surrogacy as a single man. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: The study is an international, in-depth qualitative study of fathers who chose to begin a family and parent alone. Data were collected between 2018 and 2021 as part of a larger study of solo fathers with different routes to parenthood. The present study reports on 21 fathers who used surrogacy and egg donation to begin their family. The average age of the fathers was 44 years, the fathers had young children aged 6 years or younger, and lived in countries across Australia, Europe, and North America. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interview topics included fathers' experiences of the process of using egg donation and surrogacy, and navigating the relationship with the surrogate. The audio-recorded interviews lasted around 2 hours and were subsequently transcribed verbatim. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis. Most of the fathers chose an identifiable egg donor. Regarding the relationship with the surrogate, many fathers had remained in contact with her, but to differing degrees, and they generally reported positive relationships. Thematic analysis led to the identification of three themes relating to the fathers' experiences of choosing surrogacy as a single man: the ability to make choices; challenges and constraints; and special relationship. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Due to the variation between different countries regarding laws on surrogacy, contextual factors may have impacted on the experiences of single fathers, and the sample size was small. However, the research provides new insights into an area with little academic literature. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Given the growing trend of single men having children through surrogacy, the findings suggest that this new path to parenthood can be both rewarding and challenging. Single men may benefit from tailored support and counselling to help them navigate the surrogacy journey. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 208013/Z/17/Z). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: n/a.

Validation of the 'EPICES' social deprivation score in a population of women who have just given birth: a French cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic performance of the EPICES score for identifying social deprivation during pregnancy in a population of women in the immediate postpartum period. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional survey took place between 5th June and 5th August 2017, among women who had just given birth in either of the maternity units in Clermont-Ferrand, France. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was completed by women. The questionnaire came in two parts: the EPICES index and the criteria for social deprivation defined by French law. These criteria were chosen to define the reference standard. The women were classified into two groups, living in precarious circumstances or not, according to the criteria defined by the French law (reference standard). To determine the most relevant threshold of the EPICES score, the precision associated with the threshold (the fraction of those predicted positive who are true positives: positive predictive value) was balanced with its sensitivity. EPICES scores above the threshold were classified as deprived, those below as non-deprived. RESULTS: Of the 947 women who gave birth during the study period, 700 (73.9%) completed the self-administered questionnaire. The best trade-off between precision and sensitivity was obtained with a threshold of 22. For this threshold value, the positive predictive value was 42.3% and the sensitivity 70.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The EPICES score with a threshold validated in the population of pregnant women is a useful, rapid, and easy-to-use tool that makes it possible to identify maternal deprivation at an individual level.

New Data on Latrodectus tredecimguttatus Rossi, 1790, the Medically Important Spider Species (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Iran.

Spiders are one of the most important orders of Arachnida comprising more than 48,000 species in the world. Except for families Uloboridae and Holarchaeidae, all others are classified as the venomous spider. However, only about 200 species are medically relevant and cause public health problems or even death. In Iran, there are 51 families and 763 species of spiders, of which the families, Theridiidae and Sicariidae are dangerous for the human being, and the first one is more prevalent. The Latrodectus is considered one of the most poisonous spiders in the world and Iran. This genus has five species in Iran, among which Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (black widow spider or “Dolmak”) is considered one of the most poisonous spiders in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate this species in the Northwest of Iran (West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, and Ardabil provinces, Iran). Spatial distribution maps were prepared using GIS 9.4. In the current study, five adult female spiders were collected from Germi and Ardabil cities (Ardabil Province), Ahar County (East Azerbaijan province), and Urmia city (West Azerbaijan province) of Iran. These species were first observed in Ardabil province, Iran. Therefore, the presence of Latrodectus species under the rocks in wheat farms in this corner of Iran may be a threat to farms and visitors. People in these areas should wear gloves and avoid any activity that disturbs the spiders and make them aggressive.

Subcycle Terahertz Nonlinear Optics.

The nonlinear interaction of subcycle electromagnetic radiation with matter is the current frontier in ultrafast nonlinear optics and high-field physics. Here, we investigate nonlinear optical effects induced by intense, subcycle terahertz radiation in a doped semiconductor. We observe a truncation of the half-cycle terahertz pulse and an emission of high-frequency terahertz photons. We attribute our observations to the abrupt current drop caused by strong intervalley scattering effects. By adding an extra half-cycle terahertz pulse with opposite polarity, we monitor the evolution of the nonlinear carrier dynamics during a quasi-single-cycle pulse. Our results demonstrate the differences between nonlinear effects for subcycle and multicycle terahertz pulses. It also suggests a new approach to subcycle control of terahertz waveforms, and the generation of high-order terahertz harmonics could be realized by using multicycle pulses.

Sperm donor regulation and disclosure intentions: Results from a nationwide multi-centre study in France.

Gamete donation in Europe is not regulated by a common legal framework. Different laws regarding donor anonymity and remuneration exist in different countries. In France, gamete donation is characterized by a stable legal framework - the existing system of anonymous and non-remunerated donation remained unchanged following a period of public and parliamentary debate in 2011 - but little evidence is available concerning recipients' views and experiences of gamete donation. This article describes findings from a questionnaire completed individually by 714 heterosexual couple members undergoing a donor conception procedure at one of 20 national fertility centres in France. Participants were invited to report their attitudes towards the French legal framework, their perceptions of the anonymous donor, and their intentions to disclose donor conception to their child and to other people. The majority of respondents (93%) approved of the current legal framework. Participants indicated that they thought about the sperm donor in ways that emphasized his act of donation without describing him as a specific individual. A majority (71%) also stated that they intended to tell their child about their donor conception. Given that this is the largest nationwide study of French recipients of donor sperm, the findings make an important contribution to the research evidence currently available about prospective parents' perspectives in the increasingly uncommon context of donor anonymity in Europe.

Evidence for the presence of Ctenocephalides orientis in livestock dwellings in northwest Iran.

Fleas are important vectors of diseases such as murine typhus, tularaemia, hymenolepiasis and plague. The presence of active foci and history of human- and flea-transmitted plague in northwest Iran prompted the present group to collect and identify fleas from human and livestock dwellings across West Azerbaijan Province. Adult fleas were collected and identified using routine taxonomic keys. Species designation was confirmed by sequencing the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI). Of the collected specimens (n = 989), 104 were collected off-host (30 from human dwellings and 74 in light traps) and the rest were found on hosts (107 on animals and 778 by human bait). Of these fleas, 394 (40%) were male and 595 (60%) were female. The collected specimens belonged to the species Ctenocephalides canis, Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides orientis and Pulex irritans (all: Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). The amplified COI fragment, in addition to confirming the morphological identification of species, showed good efficacy in separating the different species in the phylogenetic analysis. In addition to the identification of fleas from human and livestock dwellings using morphological and molecular characteristics, the current paper represents the first report of the presence of C. orientis in northwest Iran. This finding suggests that changing climate conditions may have expanded the distribution of this species.

The perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation.

STUDY QUESTION: What are the perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation regarding their conception and the third party involved? SUMMARY ANSWER: The majority of adolescents described feeling indifferent about their conception, and yet simultaneously reported an interest in the third party involved, or were in contact with them. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: There is an assumption that children conceived through reproductive donation will feel negatively about their origins in adolescence. However, little is known about the views of adolescents who have been conceived through different types of reproductive donation. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Forty-four adolescents, all of whom had been told about their conception in childhood, participated in a semi-structured interview as part of the sixth phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of assisted reproduction families in the UK. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: All adolescents were aged 14 years, had been conceived using surrogacy (n = 22), egg donation (n = 13) or sperm donation (n = 9) to heterosexual couples, and varied in terms of their information about, and contact with, the third party involved in their conception. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in participants' homes. Interviews were analysed qualitatively to determine adolescents' perceptions of their conception, and their thoughts and feelings about the surrogate or donor involved. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Adolescents were found to feel positive (n = 7), indifferent (n = 32) or ambivalent (n = 5) about their conception. Amongst adolescents not in contact with the surrogate or donor, most were interested (n = 16) in the surrogate or donor, and others were ambivalent (n = 4), or not interested (n = 6) in them. Adolescents in contact with the surrogate or donor expressed positive (n = 14), ambivalent (n = 1) or negative (n = 1) feelings about them. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Of 56 adolescents invited to take part in the study, 47 consented to take part, giving a response rate of 84%. It was not possible to obtain information from adolescents who do not know about their conception. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The findings contradict the assumption that children conceived through reproductive donation will feel negatively about their origins in adolescence and suggest that it may be helpful to draw a distinction between adolescents' feelings about their conception in general, and their feelings about the surrogate or donor in particular. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

An intelligent algorithm for identification of optimum mix of demographic features for trust in medical centers in Iran.

Healthcare quality is affected by various factors including trust. Patients' trust to healthcare providers is one of the most important factors for treatment outcomes. The presented study identifies optimum mixture of patient demographic features with respect to trust in three large and busy medical centers in Tehran, Iran. The presented algorithm is composed of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system and statistical methods. It is used to deal with data and environmental uncertainty. The required data are collected from three large hospitals using standard questionnaires. The reliability and validity of the collected data is evaluated using Cronbach's Alpha, factor analysis and statistical tests. The results of this study indicate that middle age patients with low level of education and moderate illness severity and young patients with high level of education, moderate illness severity and moderate to weak financial status have the highest trust to the considered medical centers. To the best of our knowledge this the first study that investigates patient demographic features using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system in healthcare sector. Second, it is a practical approach for continuous improvement of trust features in medical centers. Third, it deals with the existing uncertainty through the unique neuro-fuzzy approach.

Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood.

Study question: What is the relationship between children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and their security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood? Summary answer: Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor, and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively. What is known already: There is limited understanding of the factors that contribute to children's thoughts and feelings about their donor in solo mother families. In adolescence, an association was found between adolescents' curiosity about donor conception and their security of attachment to their mothers. Study design size, duration: 19 children were administered the Friends and Family Interview and Donor Conception Interview between December 2015 and March 2016 as part of the second phase of a longitudinal, multi-method, multi-informant study of solo mother families. Participants/materials setting methods: All children were aged between 7 and 13 years and had been conceived by donor insemination to solo mothers. Interviews were conducted in participants' homes. The Friends and Family Interview was rated according to a standardized coding scheme designed to measure security of attachment in terms of secure-autonomous, insecure-dismissing, insecure-preoccupied and insecure-disorganized attachment patterns. Quantitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview yielded two factors: interest in the donor and perceptions of the donor. Qualitative analyses of the Donor Conception Interview were conducted using qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Main results and the role of chance: Statistically significant associations were found between the perception of the donor scale and the secure-autonomous and insecure-disorganized attachment ratings. Children with higher levels of secure-autonomous attachment to their mothers were more likely to have positive perceptions of the donor (r = 0.549, P = 0.015), and those with higher levels of insecure-disorganized attachment to their mothers were more likely to perceive him negatively (r = -0.632, P = 0.004). Children's narratives about the donor depicted him as a stranger (n = 8), a biological father (n = 4), a social parent (n = 3), or in ambivalent terms (n = 4). Limitations, reasons for caution: Findings are limited by the wide age range of children within a small overall sample size. Participants were those willing and able to take part in research on donor conception families. The statistical significance of correlation coefficients was not corrected for multiple comparisons. Wider implications of the findings: Findings highlight the importance of situating children's ideas about the donor within family contexts. It is recommended that those working with donor conception families consider this when advising parents about whether, what and how to tell children about donor conception. Study funding/competing interest(s): This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The perceived influence of childhood cancer on the parents' relationship.

OBJECTIVE: When a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents are faced with many practical and emotional challenges that can significantly affect their relationship. This study explores how having a child with cancer affects the quality of the parents' relationship, categorizes time points and events during the child's treatment when the relationship becomes most stressed and/or strengthened, identifies factors that help couples remain emotionally engaged throughout their child's cancer treatment, and assesses parental interest in a counseling intervention. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted via a semistructured self-administered questionnaire that included the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-two parents of children diagnosed between the ages of 1 and 21 participated. Forty percent felt their relationship moved in a negative direction. Diagnosis and relapse of disease were cited as the most individually stressful time points in the disease trajectory, with hospitalizations and relapse being most stressful on the relationship. Participants felt most emotionally connected at diagnosis and least emotionally connected at the start and end of treatment. The majority of couples indicated interest in counseling to address ways to support their relationship. Soon after diagnosis and during treatment was reported as the preferred time to offer these interventions. CONCLUSION: This study identified specific events and parent behaviors that strain the couples' relationship during the childhood cancer trajectory. This information can inform the development of a couple's intervention. Prospective research is needed to better understand how childhood cancer affects caregivers' partnerships through survivorship and beyond.

From 'Virgin Births' to 'Octomom': Representations of Single Motherhood via Sperm Donation in the UK News.

The use of sperm donation by single women has provoked public, professional and political debate. Newspapers serve as a critical means of both broadcasting this debate and effecting a representation of this user group within the public sphere. This study uses the theory of social representations to examine how single motherhood by sperm donation has been represented in the UK news over time. The study sampled news coverage on this topic in eight British newspapers during three 4-year periods between the years 1988 and 2012. The dataset of news reports (n = 406) was analysed using a qualitative approach. Findings indicated that UK media reports of single women using donor sperm are underpinned by conventional categories of the 'personal', the 'traditional' and the 'natural' that when paired with their corollaries produce a representation of this user group as the social 'other'. The amount of coverage on this topic over time was found to vary according to the political orientation of different media sources. Using key concepts from social representations theory, this article discusses the relationship between themata and anchoring in the maintenance of representations of the social 'other' in mass mediated communication. Findings are explained in relation to theoretical conceptions of the mass media and its position within the public sphere. It is argued that the use of personal narratives in news reports of single mothers by sperm donation may have significant implications for public understandings of this social group. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Absence or presence? Complexities in the donor narratives of single mothers using sperm donation.

STUDY QUESTION: How do single mothers who have conceived a child via anonymous or identity-release sperm donation represent the donor? SUMMARY ANSWER: While the majority of mothers described their anonymous and identity-release donors as symbolically significant to their families, others were more likely to emphasize that their lack of information limited their thoughts about him. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: There is limited understanding of the factors that impact upon how single mothers represent the donor, and whether or not they are determined by specific donor programmes (anonymous or identity-release). STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 46 women who had treatment at a UK licensed fertility clinic during the years 2003-2009. Twenty mothers (43%) had used an anonymous donor, and 26 (57%) had used an identity-release donor. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Among the 46 mothers interviewed, all had at least one child conceived via donor insemination who was between the ages of 4 and 9 years. Mothers were heterosexual and were currently without a live-in and/or long-term partner. Interview data were analysed qualitatively according to the principles of thematic analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Findings indicated marked diversity in single mothers' representations of the donor. Most (n = 27) mothers talked about the donor as symbolically significant to family life and were likely to describe the donor as (i) a gift-giver, (ii) a gene-giver and (iii) a potential partner. Others (n = 16) talked about the donor as (i) unknown, (ii) part of a process and (iii) out of sight and out of mind. There were mothers with anonymous and identity-release donors in each group. Several mothers explained that their feelings about the donor had changed over time. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: All mothers conceived at a licensed fertility clinic in the UK. Findings are limited to individuals willing and able to take part in research on donor conception. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The study offers greater insight into the factors influencing the donor narratives produced in single-mother families. It has implications for the counselling and treatment of single women seeking fertility treatment with donor gametes in both anonymous and identity-release programmes. Given that the number of clinics offering identity-release programmes worldwide seems to be increasing, the finding that single women may have varying preferences with regard to donor type, and varying interest levels with regard to donor information, is important. It is recommended that clinicians and other fertility clinic staff guard against making assumptions about such preferences and any thoughts and feelings about the donor or donor information on the basis of marital status. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This study was funded by the Wellcome Trust [097857/Z/11/Z]. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The consistency of antibiotic resistance' results in two methods of disk diffusion and MIC in isolated organisms from patients with urinary tract infections.

Introduction: The urinary tract infection is the most common infection and drug resistance to it is increasing. Due to the acute infection, the prescribing of medicine is conducted before culture and antibiogram and according to the results, disk diffusion is adjusted. The aim of this study was to compare it with MIC to determine to what extent the current method could be useful. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional investigation research regarding drug resistance was conducted with the help of two methods of disk diffusion and MIC on the isolations of patients' urine culture with UTI (midstream clean catch). Bacterial resistance was measured, and sensitivity and specificity were evaluated. Results: The MIC method was considered the gold standard and, according to the related formula, the sensitivity and specificity of disk diffusion were related to 13 antibiotics obtained as it follows: ciprofloxacin 69% and 69.1% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = .292), cotrimoxazole 50% and 77.3% (p = 0.010), nitrofurantoin 84.7% and 58.2% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.44), ampicilin 83.3% and 85.3% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.33), ofloxacin 65.5% and 83.9% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.429), cephalexin 46.2% and 75.2% (p = 0.012 and Kappa = 0.116), gentamicin 64.2% and 66% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.276), ceftriaxone 27.6% and 80.9% (p = 0.216 and Kappa = 0.074), nalidixic acid 42.1% and 89.2% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.354), imipenem 63.4% and 70.4% (0.0001 > p and Kappa 0.306), co-amoxiclav 83% and 71% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.412), cefixime 21% and 80.9% (0.0001 > p and Kappa = 0.412), vancomycin 55.9% and 94.7 (0.9001 > p and Kappa = 0.532). Sensitivity and specificity of this method were reported to be lower than MIC. Conclusions: Due to the low sensitivity and specificity of the disk diffusion method, antibiotic therapy should be certainly considered in clinical conditions, and risk factors for the infection and only by this approach cannot prescribe the drug.

Absolute quantification of free tumor cells in the peripheral blood of gastric cancer patients.

Gastric cancer remains the third most common cancer in the world. Metastatic disease is a major cause of death in about half of the patients; therefore, early diagnosis is crucial for successful outcome. This study applied a sensitive method for the detection of circulating tumor cells using specific tumor markers for early detection. A total of 80 blood samples from 40 patients and 40 age-matched healthy controls were collected for the study. Circulating mRNA levels of two tumor markers, tumor endothelial marker 8 (TEM-8) and carcinoembryogenic antigen (CEA) were evaluated using absolute quantitative real-time PCR assay in the Stratagene Mx-3000P real-time PCR system. GAPDH was used to normalize the data. TEM-8 and CEA were detected in patients' blood more than in controls, 22/40 vs 9/40, P=0.005, and 30/40 vs 11/40, P=0.008, respectively. The mRNA level of these markers in patients was significantly higher in comparison to normal controls (P=0.018, 0.01). This panel showed an overall sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 73%. Statistical analysis for demographic variants did not show any significant differences. Both markers were detected more frequently and in significantly higher levels in blood samples of patients compared to samples from normal individuals. Copy number of CEA and TEM-8 mRNA, as detected by real-time quantitative PCR, appears to be a promising marker to evaluate the risk of tumor spread.

Henna through the centuries: a quick HPTLC analysis proposal to check henna identity

Henna leaves are the raw material of commercial body and hair dyes. According to historical and ethnobotanical information, henna was one of the first plants used for such purpose. However, differences can be observed between henna products by the origin of the raw material, the presence of other plants, or the addition of various contaminants that may cause allergies and permanent scarring. Nowadays henna is used everywhere but it lacks the necessary controls. We report a pharmacognostic study focused on quality control of henna's raw materials from different countries or based on other plants. The analytic approach based on High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) was proposed as a reliable technique to evaluate natural products complex mixtures, as it is also the case of derived botanical marketed products.

Highly enhanced Raman scattering of graphene using plasmonic nano-structure.

Highly enhanced Raman scattering of graphene on a plasmonic nano-structure platform is demonstrated. The plasmonic platform consists of silver nano-structures in a periodic array on top of a gold mirror. The gold mirror is used to move the hot spot to the top surface of the silver nano-structures, where the graphene is located. Two different nano-structures, ring and crescent, are studied. The actual Raman intensity is enhanced by a factor of 890 for the G-peak of graphene on crescents as compared to graphene on a silicon dioxide surface. The highest enhancement is observed for the G-peak as compared to the 2D-peak. The results are quantitatively well-matched with a theoretical model using an overlap integral of incident electric field intensities with the corresponding intensities of Raman signals at the G- and 2D-peaks. The interaction of light with nano-structures is simulated using finite element method (FEM).

Colorimetric sensors using nano-patch surface plasmon resonators.

A two-dimensional array of gold nano-patches on a highly reflective mirror is proposed for refractive index sensing based on changes in the reflected colors. The grating on the mirror creates localized surface plasmon resonances resulting in a minimum in the visible reflectance spectra. The wavelength of the resonance can be tuned by changing the width of the nano-patches and is also dependent on the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The color variation due to change in the refractive index is measured and used to realize a simple low-cost sensor with a refractive index resolution better than 10⁻5 just using image processing. The efficacy of the proposed sensor is also demonstrated for surface sensing by depositing thin layers of silicon dioxide. The color difference due to the addition of a 3 nm thick layer of silicon dioxide is detectable by the naked eye and deposition thickness of 2 Šcan be resolved using image processing.

The application of the health belief model in oral health education.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to determine the application of health belief model in oral health education for 12-year-old children and its effect on oral health behaviors and indexes. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was carried out on twelve-year-old girl students (n-291) in the first grade of secondary school, in the central district of Tehran, Iran. Research sample was selected by a multistage cluster sampling. The data was obtained by using a valid reliable questionnaire for measuring the perceptions, a checklist for observing the quality of brushing and dental flossing and health files and clinical observation. First, a descriptive study was applied to individual perceptions, oral behaviors, Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) and Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth Index (DMFTI). Then an educational planning based on the results and Health Belief Model (HBM) was applied. The procedure was repeated after six months. RESULTS: After education, based on HBM, all the oral health perceptions increased (P<.05). Correct brushing and flossing are influenced by increased perceptions. A low correlation between the reduction of DMFTI and increased perceived severity and increased perceived barriers are found (r= -0.28, r = 0.43 respectively). In addition, there was a limited correlation between OHI and increased perceived benefits (r = -0.26). CONCLUSION: Using health belief model in oral health education for increasing the likelihood of taking preventive oral health behaviors is applicable.