Educational Intervention of Improve Student's Oral Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis School-Based

The present research aimed to assess the effects of oral health intervention programs at school level on students' oral hygiene in developing countries. To this aim, a systematic review and meta-analysis approach was employed.

The present research was done by surfing electronic databases with MEDLINE Ovid (Embase Ovid, Scopus), Web of Science from 2000 to Mar 2020. The data were collected using a standard type of data collection including specific studies to observational ones, and the data entered RevMan 2014. The eligibility criteria were individually randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or cluster-RCTs including quasi-experimental papers with oral health interventions. The RevMan 2014 package was used for a meta-analysis done through random-effects models.

Meta-analyses revealed statistically significant divergences in terms of knowledge (SMD 3.31, 95% CI 2.52 to 4.11; I² = 98; P<0.001), attitude (SMD 1.99, 95% CI 0. 43 to 3.54; I² = 99; P<0.001), behavior (SMD 4.74, 95% CI 3.70 to 5.77; I² = 99; P<0.001), plaque index (SMD -1.01, 95% CI -1.50 to -0. 51; I² = 97; P<0.001) and Gingival index (SMD 0. 33, 95% CI -0. 36 to 1. 02; I² = 98; P=0.34) in the case of students who received educational interventions versus those with ordinary care.

The present findings attested to the effectiveness of the educational interventions in improving oral health knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and so on which can presumably contribute to a better oral hygiene, lower incidence of oral diseases, and lower costs of the treatments imposed by oral diseases.