A Review on the Effectiveness of Dental Health Education

Abstract

Health Education of the general public is an integral part of a prevention oriented approach to health and disease problems. Health education can bring about changes in life styles and risk factors of disease. Oral disease continues to bother mankind in spite of great advances made in the field of oral health. In order to reduce the level of dental diseases and to improve oral health in populations; oral health workers, government departments and NGO’s have embarked on oral health education (OHE) programmes as a means to achieve this goal. The different target groups in dental health education are: School Children, Adults, Chronically ill & Geriatric people and emotionally ill people. Oral health education is the need of the hour in spite of advances made in the direction of prevention of oral diseases. Dental health education programs should be applicable to all segments of the population and should be developed through appropriate program planning and implementation criteria. One may conclude that the time is favourable for effective and adequate programs for dental health education to be developed and implemented.