Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Dental Fluorosis

Abstract

Introduction: Dental fluorosis remains one of the most common disorders affecting the teeth, starting right from the early age. Hence it is important to prevent dental fluorosis from the school age level. To a certain duration (as per WHO; 0.6 ppm), fluoride ingestion is useful for teeth and bone development, but excessive ingestion causes a disease called fluorosis. The greatest matter in dental fluorosis is aesthetic modification in the permanent dentition (the adult teeth). These changes are prone to appear in children who are extremely exposed to fluoride between 30 and 20 months of age. The critical period of exposure is amidst 1 and 4 years old, and the child is not enduring risk after 8 years of age. The severity of dental fluorosis depends on the amount of fluoride exposure, the age of the child, individual response, weight, degree of physical activity, nutrition, and bone growth. Objective: The study aimed at assessing the pre-test level of knowledge among parents of primary school children regarding dental fluorosis, to assess the effectiveness of planned teaching programme on dental fluorosis among parents, and to associate pre-test and post-test knowledge scores among parents of primary school children with their socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, occupation, qualification of parents. Method: A one-group pre-test–post-test pre-experimental approach was adopted. The study was conducted among 60 parents of primary school children, conveniently selected from the village of Vadodara district. The content validity of the teaching plan and tool was established. Accuracy of the tool was tested by split-half technique using Karl Pearson’s co-efficient of inter-rater and correlation reliability. Result: It was found that the impact of the health awareness programme in terms of increase in knowledge score of parents of primary school children was 5.78%, whereas increase in skill was found to be 14.18%. Conclusion: There is a need for a re-education and knowledge about dental fluorosis for the parents of primary school children.