Abstract
Facing the high prevalence of dental caries in Portuguese children, the school health team of Oliveira do Bairro county (district of Aveiro) launched an health education project (Mr. Tooth Project), during 2012/13, intended to preschool age (3‐6 years) and consisting in the implementation of tooth brushing at school.The study aimed to estimate the reduction of dental plaque in children covered by this project in order to evaluate its effectiveness on dental caries's reduction.A quasi‐experimental study was developed and the individual dental plaque index was evaluated before and after Mr Tooth Project implementation (nbefore=256; nafter=190).Prevalence of caries estimated before the beginning of the intervention was 32.8% (95% CI: 27.0% ‐ 38.6%). The reduction of dental plaque index found between evaluations was 2.45 (95% CI: 2.38‐2.51). A positive association between dental plaque index reduction and number of decayed, missing and filled teeth due to caries, and also with initial dental plaque index, was demonstrated. A negative association between dental plaque index reduction and interval between evaluations was also found.The results pointed to the effectiveness of school health programs that promotes daily tooth brushing at school and suggest the need to evaluate intervention projects span in order to optimize resources for its development.
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