Promoting Oral Hygiene In Children
For promoting oral health among school-going children, it is necessary to create awareness and education among parents to develop knowledge, behaviour, and attitude toward oral health. According to the social cognitive theory of Bandura, parents’ behaviour has a huge impact on the health and social practices of a child (Mishra et al., 2018).
It is necessary for health practitioners to aware parents that up to six months of age they must clean the infant’s gums and gently massage the gums. Parents must be educated that dental decay is infectious and transmissible, therefore while feeding the baby, they must not share utensils like spoons with the baby (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).
Moreover, as teething starts in babies, the parents must be taught by the dentist how to clean the baby’s teeth, which must be done using a soft-bristled toothbrush meant for babies, without any toothpaste. Moreover, the parents must also be educated on how to spot any dental decay, and in that case, they must immediately schedule an appointment with the dentist. In addition to this, parents must also ensure to prevent the child from having sugary snacks and rather stress upon low-sugar meals (New York State: Department of Health, 2022).
In schools, it is necessary to focus on activities that help in developing children’s habits, hygiene practices, and skills related to oral health behavior. Group activities are great fun for children, and they are an effective way to enforce social norms that are healthier and can prove to be key drivers to promoting behavior related to oral hygiene (Bundy et al., 2017).
References
Bundy, D. A., de Silva, N., Horton, S., Jamison, D. T., & Patton, G. C. (2017). Disease control priorities. 8, 278. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/28876/33236.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Children’s Oral Health. Retrieved 5 August 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/childrens-oral-health/index.html
Duijster, D., de Jong-Lenters, M., Verrips, E., & van Loveren, C. (2015). Establishing oral health promoting behaviours in children - parents' views on barriers, facilitators and professional support: a qualitative study. BMC oral health, 15, 157. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-015-0145-0
Mishra, A., Pandey, R. K., Chopra, H., & Arora, V. (2018). Oral health awareness in school-going children and its significance to parent's education level. Journal of Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, 36(2), 120.
New York State: Department of Health. (2022). Infant and Children's Oral Health - Birth to 5 years of age. Retrieved 5 August 2022, from https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/dental/birth_oral_health.html
