Changes in Toothbrushing Behavior and Knowledge through Dental Health Care Education and Experience for Elementary School Students

Abstract

Background/Objectives: To form habits through the dental health education for assisting with mid to
long-term oral health maintenance of elementary school students, surveys were conducted from March to
December of 2018.
Method/Statistical Analysis: The data was encoded then statistically analyzed using SPSS ver. 23.0, and the
level of significance was set as 0.05. Cross-tabulation was conducted for the grade distribution depending on
the gender, and the frequency analysis was conducted for the existence of oral health recognition, school’s
oral health education behaviors and changes in toothbrushingbehaviors after the oral health education.
Findings: As for dental health education, 74.8% students responded that it is ‘helpful’ for dental health
care, and 71.7% students responded that it is ‘helpful’ for dental health education usage and method. As for
dental health recognition, ‘healthy’ was the most frequent response, and 49.2% students responded they have
experienced ‘bleeding from the gum’ when toothbrushing. As for the toothbrushing related questions, 35.5%
respondents were using rotational method, and 54.1% responded that they brush after lunch. “between 2 to
3 minutes” was the most popular with 33.1%. As for the distribution of correct answers for dental health
knowledge before and after education, the correct answers which asked ‘if the cause of gum disease is dental
plaque’ increased after education(89.9%) compared to before (76.1%). The question which asked ‘if one
should brush teeth before going to sleep’, the correct answer was higher after education(98.4%) compared
to before (89.6%). The question which asked ‘if fruits, milk and vegetables assist with tooth cleanliness’, the
correct answer was higher after education(88.2%) compared to before(79.4%).
Improvements/Applications: Consequentially, forming proper habits through repeated education and