Investigating the effect of an educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model in reducing dental plaque among sixth-grade elementary students

Implementing programs that develop personal skills and promote adherence to oral health behaviors is essential for adolescents. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of an educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) in reducing dental plaque among sixth-grade elementary students. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with 80 sixth-grade students in Urmia, Iran. The students were divided into two groups: an intervention group and a control group, each consisting of 40 participants. The data collection tool consisted of three parts: questions pertaining to demographic information; a researcher-developed questionnaire assessing HBM constructs and knowledge regarding dental plaque and behaviors associated with its reduction; and an assessment of the level of dental plaque using the O’Leary Plaque Index. During one month, the intervention group participated in three 45-minute training sessions focused on oral hygiene instructions. Data were collected in two phases: before the educational intervention and three months afterward. The post-intervention mean scores in the intervention group were as follows: knowledge (7.92 out of 11), perceived susceptibility (21.55 out of 25), perceived severity (36.70 out of 40), perceived benefits (39.85 out of 45), self-efficacy (43.92 out of 50), cues to action (33.80 out of 40), and behaviors related to reducing dental plaque (50.07 out of 60). These findings indicate significant increases in all these measures in the intervention group after the educational program, compared to both their baseline scores and the control group ( p < 0.05). Additionally, the mean scores for perceived barriers (15.92 out of 35) and the dental plaque index (63.77 out of 100) significantly decreased in the intervention group after the intervention ( p < 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that educational interventions based on the HBM can be a valuable strategy for promoting oral health behaviors and reducing dental plaque among sixth-grade students. It is recommended that the educational intervention developed in this study be used as a simple and effective approach to encourage oral health behaviors and reduce the burden of preventable oral diseases, in conjunction with other routine school health care practices.