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Short-Term Outcomes of Visual-Aid-Based Motivation on Children's Oral Hygiene: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Merve Candan1, Melike İdacı1, Alper Çamgöz1

  • 1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, 26040 Eskisehir, Türkiye.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 28, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Positive and negative visual aids, along with verbal education, improved children's oral hygiene and reduced halitosis. All educational approaches showed similar short-term effectiveness in enhancing oral health behaviors.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Oral Hygiene Education
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Effective oral hygiene education is crucial for preventing dental caries and periodontal disease in children.
  • Visual aids can potentially enhance the impact of verbal education on behavior change.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the efficacy of positive and negative visual aids in verbal-active oral hygiene education for children aged 7-14.
  • To compare the impact of different visual aid strategies on oral hygiene behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • A single-blind study involving 60 children randomized into three groups: positive visual aid, negative visual aid, and verbal-active education only.
  • Oral hygiene assessed using the Silness-Löe Index (plaque) and Rosenberg Organoleptic Scale (halitosis) at baseline, 1 week, and 1 month.
  • Data analyzed using split-plot ANOVA.

Main Results:

  • All groups showed significant short-term reductions in plaque and halitosis scores (p < 0.001).
  • No statistically significant differences in outcomes were found between the intervention groups (p > 0.05).
  • Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics were similar across all groups.

Conclusions:

  • Verbal education, whether supplemented with positive or negative visuals or delivered solely, effectively improves children's oral hygiene and halitosis scores in the short term.
  • The type of visual aid used in conjunction with verbal education did not yield significantly different results.
  • These findings suggest that structured verbal education is a key component in improving pediatric oral hygiene behaviors.
Abstract

Keywords:
dentaldental plaque indexhalitosishealth educationmotivationoral hygienepediatric dentistry

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