An assessment of the Alabama Smile Keeper school dental health education program

An evaluation of the Alabama Smile Keeper Dental Health Education Program was necessary to determine if educating teachers to teach preventive dentistry improved the oral hygiene and knowledge of dental health of elementary schoolchildren. Four hundred seventy-five students at the Maxwell Air Force Base elementary school in grades 1 through 6 were tested using a series of written examinations and scores from a plaque index (Greene's OHI-S Index) before and after the education program. Levels of plaque were significantly reduced immediately after instruction and retention test scores were significantly lower four months later than preinstruction test scores. Written examinations proved that knowledge increased immediately after instruction and retention test scores were significantly better than preinstruction test scores.