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[Caries free smile: a dental health educational programme]
A M Grimoud1, A C Verchère, J P Lodter
1Permanence d'accès aux soins de Santé, unité fonctionnelle réseau d'odontologie sociale et humanitaire, hôpital de la Grave, CHU de Toulouse, place Lange, TSA 600 33, 31059 Toulouse cedex 9 France. grimoud.am@chu-toulouse.fr <grimoud.am@chu-toulouse.fr>
Unlabelled:
A multidisciplinary team associating members from the hospital, national education and local council sectors prepared, and led, a carie-free smile educational campaign in Toulouse.
Objectives:
The aim was two-fold: to teach children how to manage their routine oral hygiene while giving a positive image to health care-hence the carie-free smile theme chosen by the team; secondly, to promote an awareness campaign targeting professionals in the education sector (public health sector, independent paediatricians and odontologists) who together constitute the transmitters of our initiative.
Material And Methods:
The action involved 12,000 children in the 5-8-year age group from 76 public and private schools, 36 kindergarten and primary school leisure centres, six holiday centres together with infant patients from the children's hospital, all of whom were volunteers in the scheme. The team produced back-up material in the form of posters, booklets and stickers; there was also a website dealing with oral hygiene themes, caries and their treatment. Those taking part included practising dentists and students of dentistry. Before the presentation, posters were sent to teachers and other educational partners so as to prepare the children; this included an interactive phase in the presence of the teacher, and a brushing session. Each child was given a booklet, a sticker and a toothbrush.
Results:
By means of a poll organised among the partners the impact of the campaign could be assessed: firstly, on teachers and children by evaluating their motivation in the setting up of the toothbrushing session in 17 classes following the midday meal, thus appraising their appreciation of the visual material, and secondly, to the dentistry students: the future dentists had noted disparities in oral hygiene practices according to residential area, and thus could appreciate the importance of early provision in the school curriculum, as well as the value of accomplishing this health education task in the daily exercise of their profession.
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