A study on the oral health status of a school in the Philippines and the effectiveness of school-based dental clinics

Objectives: Children and adolescents have a high prevalence of dental caries, primarily due to negligent oral care, frequent snack intake, and inadequate attention to oral disease prevention.Therefore, ensuring oral care and preventing dental caries during this period is essential.Economic barriers, particularly in low-and middle-income countries like the Philippines, limit access to dental care, highlighting the need for national oral health programs.Methods: This study aimed to investigate the oral health status of children in selected areas of the Philippines and to generate basic data for effective oral health promotion programs.We compared the oral health statuses of enrolled and newly enrolled students in schools with school-based dental clinics.Results: The results indicated that the prevalence of caries and the average number of carious permanent teeth were lower in enrolled students than in new students.Conclusions: This finding suggests that school-based oral healthcare programs effectively improve children's oral health and that introducing school-based dental clinics and establishing efficient systems are essential for improving oral health in low-and middle-income countries.