A Health Education Program for improving Oral Status of.

The significance of health education in schools has been recognized since decades. The classroom is considered the most adequate setting for presentation of dental health education programs as virtually all children attend school. The rationale behind inclusion of educational activities is that prevention is the key to controlling dental disease. Adolescents are in particular need of preventive programs as they have high levels of plaque, which leads to dental disease. When adolescents care for their teeth, they do so, in particular, to improve appearance and social attractiveness. Attempts to change dental health behavior should therefore be based on the relation of recommended actions to things that are valued by the people involved. Repetition and reinforcement are important for effective dental health education. Therefore, the authors stress on the need for continuous dental health education programs for effective prevention and control of dental disease in school children.

Dr. Rekha P. Shenoy is Reader in the Department of Public Health Dentistry at Yenepoya Dental College, Mangalore and is involved in undergraduate and post-graduate teaching. She has numerous international and national publications to her name and has contributed to a Dental Council of India-recommended specialty textbook of Public Health Dentistry.