Oral health promotion through health-promoting schools in developing countries: A scoping review

To explore and assess what is known about oral health promotion through health-promoting primary schools in developing countries.

A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey & O'Malley framework. Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched, followed by the reference lists of the resulting studies. The UN classification of developing countries was used to define the countries included and the search was between 1986 and 2021. Quality assessment was carried out using Joanna Briggs Institute's quality appraisal tools.

The search resulted in 33 studies of which almost half were randomized controlled trials. The oral health promotion strategies were oral health education (n = 16) delivered by teachers, parents or peers, or multicomponent involving both toothbrushing (n = 15) and dietary components (n = 2). Most of the included studies were conducted in Asia (n = 25/33).

Findings suggested that comprehensive, multicomponent theory-based oral health promotion showed improvements in oral health outcomes of schoolchildren, particularly if delivered using a whole-school approach. However, further research on feasibility and implementation of oral health promotion through health-promoting primary schools in developing countries should be considered.