The Impact of the Preventive and Educational Program of the Viçosa Family Health Unit in Oral Health of Schoolchildren

Abstract

The Family Health Program was created by the Brazilian Health Ministry in 1994, prioritizing health protection and promotion. Prevention has been the focus of dentistry, representing a shift from an exclusively restorative approach. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a preventive and educational program developed by the oral health team of the Viçosa Family Health Service at Thereza Noronha Carvalho School. The preventive and educational program has been carried out since 2001, consisting of weekly supervised brushing in students from first to eighth grade. This is a longitudinal study, with secondary data retrieved from clinical examinations carried out by the oral health team in May and September of 2010. The following variables were collected: visible plaque, gingivitis and active white spot lesions, in the present Survey of Oral Health in Schools of Municipal Health. The differences in respect to the variables of interest between the two periods of evaluation were checked using Chi-square tests. One hundred and fifty-three children were evaluated during may and 146 children were evaluated in the follow up during September, 2010. Children enrolled in 1st, 2nd and 3rd years were evaluated. The mean age of the sample was 7.59. There was a significant difference between the baseline and follow up examinations in respect to visible plaque [135 (88.24%) vs. 9 (6.16%), p=0.000], gingivitis [143 (93.46%) vs. 57 (39.04%), p=0.000] and active white spot lesion [81 (52,94 %) vs. 18 (12,33 %), p=0.000]. The findings suggest that a preventive-educative intervention was effective in the improvement of oral hygiene and in the reduction of the frequency of active white spot lesions in the studied children.