425 - Oral Hygiene Information Retention Among Pre-Adolescent Children

Oral Hygiene Information Retention Among Pre-Adolescent Children, Tareen S, (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry, New Orleans, LA.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine what method of delivery of oral hygiene information is most effective in the pre-adolescent age group and causes the highest retention and subsequent behavior modification.

Methods: The study is designed to determine which method is most effective in pre-adolescent children. A pretest was administered to 21 patients, ages 8 to 12 years at a hygiene appointment in the dental clinic. This pretest included 10 questions that gauged the patient’s current behavior and background knowledge of oral hygiene, such as brushing habits and various other topics related to oral health. At the next hygiene appointment 6 months later, the patient was given a post-test. The test is the same that was administered 6 months prior. The post-test was administered in the same manner that the pre-test was administered. The results determined if the patient learned or improved their knowledge of oral hygiene after receiving their respective education method.

Results: The post test scores for oral hygiene education and behavior showed improvement for all 3 intervention methods; however, there is no statistical significance in among one specific intervention method.

Conclusion: Verbal, visual and interactive intervention methods are all effective methods of education, with no method being significantly better than the other. Therefore, teaching oral hygiene information in each of these manners would be effective in clinical practice.