Effectiveness of oral health literacy program among parents of early childhood in child development center, Rongkwang District, Phrae Province

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of oral health literacy programs, regarding oral
health literacy among parents and dental plaque in children. The quasi-experimental study with 2
groups pretest-posttest design among parents and early childhood in child development centers of the
local administrative organization, Rong Kwang District, Phrae Province. The samples were drawn to
be classified as experimental and control groups, each consisting of 30 parents. The experimental
group received an oral health literacy program in 6 weeks with six skills, including access skill, cognitive skill, communication skill, decision-making skill, self-management skill, and media literacy skill, while the control group received the routine activity. The research instrument included an oral health literacy program, an oral health literacy questionnaire, and a dental plaque case record form. Data were analyzed using Multivariable Gaussian regression. The study found that the experimental group had oral health literacy score of 2.80 points more than the control group (p=0.001), and had children’s dental plaque score of 8.71 points less than the control group (p<0.001). The oral health literacy program could effectively increase oral health literacy, and reduce dental plaque