Can Dental Screening of Preschoolers, With or Without Parental Education, Improve Children's Oral Health? Results of a Longitudinal Study

The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of two preventive programs involving dental screening of preschool children, with or without parental education on oral health. The research was conducted in six randomly selected kindergartens in the Bukhara region of Uzbekistan, involving 478 children aged 3-6 years. In three kindergartens (Group SC), only dental screening was performed; in the remaining three (Group SE), screening was supplemented with parental education. After eight months, all children underwent a follow-up dental examination. Baseline results showed high caries prevalence in both groups (dmft: 3.86 ± 0.11 in SC; 4.02 ± 0.12 in SE, p > 0.05). At follow-up, new caries lesions appeared in both groups, but caries increment was significantly lower in Group SE (1.08 ± 0.05) compared to Group SC (1.58 ± 0.07; p < 0.05). The filling rate was also higher in Group SE. Dental screening alone had limited impact on improving children’s oral health. Adding parental education produced better outcomes; however, in both groups the proportion of untreated teeth remained high.