Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
An assessment of oral health promotion programmes in the United Kingdom
A Passalacqua1, A O Reeves, T Newton
1King's College London Dental Institute The Sweyne Park School, Rayleigh, Essex, UK.
Background:
Improving oral health and reducing tooth decay is a key area for action, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the unique advantage schools have in promoting oral health.
Aim:
We summarise current oral health promotion strategies in the United Kingdom and estimate the spread of their use as well as their impact on oral health and influence on the oral health-related knowledge and behaviour in a patient population.
Methods:
A structured overview of published papers, government publications, official government websites and policy reports. A cross-sectional study of patients referred for a tooth extraction in one dental surgery in south-east London. Statistical methods consisted of logistic and ordinal regressions to model the likelihood of exposure to oral health promotion and of obtaining higher levels of knowledge of oral health issues, respectively. Linear regression was used to model the level of oral health and knowledge of oral health issues.
Results:
We found three main promotion programmes, namely, National Healthy Schools (NHS), Sure Start and Brushing for life plus a small number of local initiatives. Sure Start targets disadvantaged areas, but is limited. In our observational study, 34% of the patients reported exposure to a settings-based oral health education programme: Sure Start (5%), NHS (7%) and other (22%). This exposure was not influenced by age or gender, but an association with education was detected. Although oral health promotion was not found to influence the actual knowledge of oral health issues, it was found to influence some oral health-related attitudes and perceptions.
Conclusions:
Participation in an oral health promotion programme was found to be significantly associated with the patients' education, their belief that they can prevent oral disease and the subjective perception of their own oral health. The WHO principles need to be embedded across all schools to achieve a true national oral health promotion programme for the United Kingdom. The National Healthy Schools programme provides the perfect platform.
More Related Videos
06:39Electroencephalographic, Heart Rate, and Galvanic Skin Response Assessment for an Advertising Perception Study: Application to Antismoking Public Service Announcements
Published on: August 28, 2017
10:42Oral Biofilm Sampling for Microbiome Analysis in Healthy Children
Published on: December 31, 2017
Related Concept Videos
01:26Assessment of the Mouth
Mouth Inspection
The inspection begins with visually examining the mouth for symmetry, color, and size.
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:18Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
01:25Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
01:30Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is limited...