Original Article

Effect of Oral Hygiene Instruction by an Educational Film versus Practical Face-to-Face Instruction on Simplified Oral Hygiene Index of Third Graders: A Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objectives: Oral hygiene instruction is an important step to promote oral health. Educational health promoting interventions focus on knowledge enhancement and adoption of optimal oral health behaviors. The visual media can greatly help in this respect. This study aimed to compare the effect of an educational film versus practical face-to-face instruction on Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S).

Materials and Methods: This parallel-design single-blind clinical trial was conducted on 120 third-graders (9-year-olds) in Hamadan city in 2020 who were selected by convenience sampling from 4 random schools. They were randomly assigned to two groups of educational film and practical face-to-face instruction. An educational film was sent to all students through Shaad mobile application. The second group received practical face-to-face oral hygiene instructions. Next, all students were requested to use their own toothbrush for one month. The OHI-S was calculated for students at the onset of the study and at one month after the intervention. Data were analyzed by ANOVA using SPSS version 24.

Results: In the practical instruction group, the OHI-S was 1.55±0.45 at one month after the intervention, showing a reduction by 0.25±0.11 units. In the educational film group, the OHI-S was 1.48±0.39 at one month after the intervention, showing a reduction by 0.29±0.19 units. The two groups had no significant difference regarding the reduction of OHI-S (P=0.10).

Conclusion: Both practical instruction and educational film effectively decreased the OHI-S of students. Considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, educational film can serve as a suitable alternative to practical face-to-face oral hygiene instruction.

1. Fiorillo L. Oral health: The first step to well-being. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Oct;55(10):676.
2. Shamsi M, Hidarnia A, Niknami S. A survey of oral health care behavior in pregnant women of Arak: Application of health belief model. J Maz Univ Med Sci. 2012 Jun;22(89):104-15.
3. Hajimiri KH, Sharifirad GH, Hasanzade A. The effect of oral health education based on health belief model in mothers who had 3-6 year-old children on decreasing dental plaque index in Zanjan. J Adv Med Biomed Res. 2010;18(72):77-86.
4. Smiech-Slomkowska G, Jablonska-Zrobek J. The effect of oral health education on dental plaque development and the level of caries-related Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp. Eur J Orthod. 2007 Apr;29(2):157-60.
5. Naseri-Salahshour V, Abredari H, Sajadi M, Sabzaligol M, Karimy M. The effect of oral health promotion program on early dental decay in students: a cluster randomized controlled trial. J Caring Sci. 2019 Jun;8(2):105-110.
6. Morrison GR, Ross SJ, Morrison JR, Kalman HK. Designing effective instruction. John Wiley & Sons, 2019. Chapter 7, Page 142-165.
7. Cottrell RR, Spear EC, McKenzie JF, Seabert D. Principles of health promotion and education. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2021. Chapter 1, page 4-26.
8. Murray JJ. The prevention of oral disease. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford Press University, 1996:137-46.
9. Sharma M. Theoretical foundations of health education and health promotion. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2016. Chapter 4, Pages77-95.
10. Goyal CR, Lyle DM, Qaqish JG, Schuller R. Evaluation of the plaque removal efficacy of a water flosser compared to string floss in adults after a single use. J Clin Dent. 2013 Jan;24(2):37-42.
11. Sadeghi MO, Bagherian A. DMFT index and bilateral dental caries occurrence among 12-year-old students in Rafsanjan-2007. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci. 2008 Dec;7(4):267-74.
12. Ghandehari Motlagh M, Azami R, Ghandehari Motlagh B, Afshar H. Efficacy of educational Intervention on plaque index among pre-school children. ijpd 2016 Spring-Summer;11(2):51-60.
13. Da Collina GA, Tempestini-Horliana ACR, da Silva DFT, Longo PL, Makabe MLF, Pavani C. Oral hygiene in intensive care unit patients with photodynamic therapy: study protocol for randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2017 Aug;18(1):1-9.
14. Cohen S, Sarnat H, Shalgi G. The role of instruction and a brushing device on the oral hygiene of blind children. Clin Prev Dent. 1991 Jul-Aug;13(4):8-12.
15. Ne JC, Vermillion JR. The Simplified Oral Hygiene Index. J Am Dent Assoc. 1964 Jan;68:7-13.
16. Loe H, Silness J. Periodontal disease in pregnancy. I. Prevalence and Severity. Acta Odontol Scand. 1963 Dec;21:533-51.
17. Silness J, Loe H. Periodontal disease in pregnancy. II. Correlation between Oral Hygiene and Periodontal Condtion. Acta Odontol Scand. 1964 Feb;22:121-35.
18. Birang R, Shakerian K, Yazdanpanah F, Nadimi M. The effect of education by visual media on oral health promotion of students. Arak Med Univ J. 2006 Summer; 9:1-6.
19. Afsari Erdchi E, Aryanian S, Ashouri Moghaddam A, Irannezhad A, Kazem Nezhad Leyli E. Comparing the effect of multimedia and practical education on the oral hygiene of orthodontic patients. J Dentomaxillofacial Radiol, Pathol, Surg. 2018 Mar;7(1):13-22.
20. Wakefield MA, Loken B, Hornik RC. Use of mass media campaigns to change health behavior. Lancet. 2010 Oct;376(9748):1261-71.
21. Vozza I, Guerra F, Marchionne M, Bove E, Corridore D, Ottolenghi L. A multimedia oral health promoting project in primary schools in central Italy. Ann Stomatol (Roma). 2014 Nov;5(3):87-90. ‏
22. Saffari M, Shojaeezadeh D, Mahmoodi M, Sede SR. A comparison between two health education methods on diet: lecture versus videotape. Payesh (Health Monitor). 2011 Jan;10(1):63-71.
23. Littlefield JH, Demps EL, Keiser K, Chatterjee L, Yuan CH, Hargreaves KM. A multimedia patient simulation for teaching and assessing endodontic diagnosis. J Dent Educ. 2003 Jun;67(6):669-77.
24. Coles B. Multimedia dental patient education systems. J Can Dent Assoc. 1996 Mar;62(3):247-8.
IssueVol 22 (Continuously Published Article-Based) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article
Keywords
Students Oral Hygiene Index Health Education Dental Dental Care for Children

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Ghadimi S, Seraj B, Mohebi M, Salehi Shahrabi M. Effect of Oral Hygiene Instruction by an Educational Film versus Practical Face-to-Face Instruction on Simplified Oral Hygiene Index of Third Graders: A Clinical Trial. Front Dent. 2025;22.