Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Introduction Tooth decay is a common childhood disease. There is growing recognition of the value of community-based, personalised, and digitally driven interventions in enhancing oral healthcare. Methodology One hundred and fifty-five students from two schools with the highest "decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT)" indices in Lisbon were selected. The intervention consisted of a four-week program featuring educational videos on oral health (tooth structure, hygiene, diet, and diseases), with pre-, post-intervention, and three-month follow-up assessments. The sessions were facilitated by family medicine resident doctors, oral health hygienists, and teachers. Children who did not complete the program were excluded. Guardian-informed consent was obtained. The data was anonymised. Statistical analysis included repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and McNemar tests. Results A hundred and eight children were included (mean age 9.24 ± 0.75 years, range 8 - 11). After the intervention, the proportions of children brushing two to three times/day and flossing daily increased (from 77.8% to 85.2% and from 42.6% to 49.1%, respectively). From baseline, the mean dental health knowledge score improved by 1.77 points after the intervention 9.47 to 11.24/13, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.21 - 1.32, p < 0.01 and by 0.52 points at follow-up (9.47 to 9.99, 95%CI 0.95 - 0.08, p = 0.014). Conclusion This video-based intervention enhanced student engagement with oral health content while providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of digital education in promoting better oral health knowledge among children.
Miguel et al. (2026) studied this question.