Video-Assisted Learning for Oral Health Knowledge in Children: A Pre-post Intervention Study

Introduction Tooth decay is a common childhood disease. There is growing recognition of the value of community-based, personalised, and digitally driven interventions in enhancing oral healthcare. Methodology One hundred and fifty-five students from two schools with the highest "decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT)" indices in Lisbon were selected. The intervention consisted of a four-week program featuring educational videos on oral health (tooth structure, hygiene, diet, and diseases), with pre-, post-intervention, and three-month follow-up assessments. The sessions were facilitated by family medicine resident doctors, oral health hygienists, and teachers. Children who did not complete the program were excluded. Guardian-informed consent was obtained. The data was anonymised. Statistical analysis included repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and McNemar tests. Results A hundred and eight children were included (mean age 9.24 ± 0.75 years, range 8 - 11). After the intervention, the proportions of children brushing two to three times/day and flossing daily increased (from 77.8% to 85.2% and from 42.6% to 49.1%, respectively). From baseline, the mean dental health knowledge score improved by 1.77 points after the intervention [9.47 to 11.24/13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.21 - 1.32, p < 0.01] and by 0.52 points at follow-up (9.47 to 9.99, 95%CI 0.95 - 0.08, p = 0.014). Conclusion This video-based intervention enhanced student engagement with oral health content while providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of digital education in promoting better oral health knowledge among children.