ORAL HEALTH EDUCATION AND MOTIVATION FOR PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN IN NURSERIES

Abstract

Introduction: Health education and motivation are essential public health tools and effective primary preventive methods. Nurseries can serve as ideal settings for health promotion. Purpose: To organize and conduct oral health education and motivation panel for children and parents in nurseries. Materials and methods: A motivational and educational panel for nursery-age children and their parents was created. The panel included 1. Motivational and educational module for parents in the form of a PowerPoint lecture; 2. Motivational and educational module for children - fairytale - "How Yoni defeats the Tooth Monsters" and two games - "What Mr. Toothy likes to eat "and "Let us wipe the germs from Mr. Toothy." Results: All mothers confirmed that the PowerPoint presentation was helpful. Nearly 98% of mothers learned new and valuable things about teething. The same percentage of mothers admitted that they had gained new knowledge on increasing their child's interest in performing regular oral hygiene. The results showed increased interest in oral hygiene and diet games in both groups of children included in the educational panel. The older children get, the more interest they show in listening to fairytales. Conclusion: Mothers and children have received the module very well, so it would be a valuable part of any nursery program.