Effectiveness of Oral Health Programme for Teachers: A Systematic Review

Many studies investigated the effectiveness of oral health programmes for teachers in terms of the impact of oral health knowledge, practices, perceptions and attitudes.

To review the effectiveness of oral health programmes designed for teachers.

A comprehensive search of the Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases was done to discover qualifying studies. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 statement. Quality assessment was done according to checklists from the 'Critical Appraisal tools for use in Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Systematic Reviews'. The review focused on studies that utilised pre- and post-questionnaires on the teachers to assess the programme's effectiveness.

There were 19 papers in total to report. All studies measured teachers' knowledge to assess their interventions' effectiveness. Only a few studies assessed practice, self-assessment/perception and attitude. Most studies showed that oral health interventions/programmes positively impacted teachers' knowledge, practice, perception and attitude. Although some studies reported insignificant changes for certain outcomes, there were still some positive changes in certain items.

Most studies in the review demonstrated that oral health programmes improved teachers' knowledge, practices, self-assessment, perceptions and attitudes towards oral health. This highlights the importance and relevance of implementing oral health interventions for teachers.