Impact of Oral Health Program on Al-Lith Children's KAP

Background: Dental caries is a global public health concern and impacts children's health. Good oral health status at a young age is essential for children's development, general health, and well-being. Therefore, a lack of knowledge, attitude, and practice on oral health will affect children's development, overall health, and well-being. This study aims to evaluate a brief oral health intervention in schools by a primary dental care practitioner in improving the knowledge, practice, and attitude toward oral health care among primary school children in Al Lith City, Saudi Arabia. A cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) will be conducted in four schools in Al Lith City, Saudi Arabia, among children aged 10 to 11 years old. Methods: 160 children will receive classroom-based interactive educational sessions delivered by a dental care professional and receive take-home literature on oral health. The first session will focus on developing the participant's knowledge and attitude toward oral health. In contrast, the second session will cover topics on behavioural skills improvement to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the first session to improve their targeted behaviours of oral hygiene and eating habits. All children will complete a questionnaire on oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice before, immediately after, and six months following the intervention. Data will be analyzed using SPSS. Data will be presented by descriptive statistics. Chi-square test will be used to determine the association between the variables of the study. One Way-ANOVA will determine the mean differences for the selected variables. A generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) will be used to test the effect of the oral health education program on the outcomes between and within the groups. Expected Results: School-based preventative oral health education delivered by primary dental care practices can improve children's knowledge of oral health and some aspects of oral hygiene behaviour. There are significant differences will be detected in eating habits and eating patterns.

Inclusion criteria

• Primary school male students.
• Aged 10 to 11 years old.
• Students who have at least one of their parent's consents to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Students who are medically ill at the time of conducting the study.
• Students that are absent while conducting the study.