This document summarizes key aspects of school oral health programmes (SOHP). It defines SOHP and lists their objectives as improving dental health knowledge and practices for students. The ideal requirements, advantages, and elements of SOHP are described. Elements include community involvement, dental screenings, education, preventive programs like fluoride and sealants, referrals, and follow-ups. Incremental and comprehensive models of dental care delivery in SOHPs are also outlined. Global initiatives by organizations like WHO are mentioned, as are some examples of national SOHPs.

1. SCHOOL ORAL HEALTH PROGRAMMES

2. • Introduction
• Aspects of SOHP
• Objectives of SOHP
• Ideal requirements of SOHP
• Advantages of SOHP
• Elements of SOHP
• Incremental dental care
• Comprehensive dental care
• Global oral health programmes
• Conclusion
CONTENTS
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3. DEFINITION
School health services are defined as the “ Procedures established
• to appraise the health status of pupils and school personnel
• to counsel pupils, parents, and others concerning appraisal findings
• to encourage the correction of remediable defects
• to assist in the identification and education of handicapped children
• to help prevent and control disease
• to provide emergency service for injury or sudden sickness".
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4. Health
appraisal
Health
counseling
Emergency
care and
first aid
School
health
education
Maintenance
of school
health
records
Curative
services
ASPECTS OF SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE
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5. OBJECTIVES OF SOHP
1. To help every school child appreciate the importance of a healthy mouth and the
relationship of dental health to general health.
2. To encourage dental health practices, personnel care, professional care, proper diet
and oral habits.
3. To enlist the aid of all groups and agencies interested in the promotion of school health.
4. To correlate dental health activities with the total school health program.
5. To stimulate the development of resources to make dental care available to all children
& youths.
6. To stimulate dentists to perform adequate health services for children.
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6. IDEAL REQUIREMENTS OF SOHP
1) Should be administratively sound.
2) Should be available to all children.
3) Should provide the facts about dentistry and dental care.
4) Should aid in development of favorable attitude towards oral health.
5) Should provide environment to develop psychomotor skills necessary for tooth brushing
and flossing.
6) Should include primary preventive programs.
7) Provide screening methods for early identification and referral of pathology.
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7. ADVANTAGES OF SOHP
1) School based oral health programs can bring comprehensive oral care including
preventive measures.
2) Students can be accessed during their childhood to adolescence.
3) School clinics are less threatening than private clinics, as children are in their familiar
surroundings.
4) The collaboration between oral health personnel, teachers and students helps develop
positive attitude in them.
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8. 5) A regular dental attendance pattern in early life will be continued after school life as
well.
6) SOHP when associated with general health programs facilitates valuable findings in
medico-dental problems.
7) It reduces the time, cost of treatment and transportation for school children.
8) The health of school staff, families and community members can also be enhanced by
such programs.
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9. Improving school- community relations
Conducting dental inspections
Imparting health education
Performing specific programmes
Referral for dental care
Follow up of dental inspection
ELEMENTS OF SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMMES
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10. 1. Improving school- community relations
• Formation of school health team and
• Community Advisory Committee.
• School health team- 8-14 members
• Students, parents, school governors, teachers
and school staff
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• The task of this committee is
a)To highlight the oral needs of school children.
b)To address schools concern in the promotion of oral health.
c)To make people realize the importance of oral health.

11. 2. Conducting dental inspections:
Benefits of school dental inspection
• Basis for school dental health instruction.
• Positive attitude in children.
• Child is motivated to seek professional care
• Provides information about status of dental needs
• Baseline and cumulative data for evaluation
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12. 3.Conducting school dental health education
School Health Education focuses on
• Oral health promoting behaviors and conditions
• Skills needed to practice those behaviors
• Knowledge ,attitude, beliefs and values
• Learning experiences that allow students to model and
practice skills.
• Personal development.
• Responsibility at home and in the society.
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13. 4) Performing specific preventive programs
4 A)Tooth brushing programs:
• In a classroom, 6-8 children can be taught as a group.
• Each one is given a cup, napkin, toothbrush and fluoride
tooth paste.
• Then the children are demonstrated how to brush their
teeth.
• The mastery of 45deg angulation and short vibratory strokes
can then be repeated on a dentoform model.
• Emphasis should be made that all teeth surfaces are covered
and cleaned. 16

14. 4b) Classroom based fluoride programs
i) Fluoride mouth rinsing program
• It includes a kit which consist of fluoride rinse dispenser, cups, napkins and plastic
disposal bags.
• From dispenser 2gm of sodium fluoride powder is collected and added to 1000ml of
water.
• The rinse should be non sweetened and non flavored to discourage swallowing.
• Rinsing programs are advised to the grades 1 to 12 but not to below grades.
• Five ml of the rinse is dispensed into each cup and distributed to all children and
instructed to rinse it for 1 min, after which they are to spit carefully into the same cup.
• The napkin is used to wipe the mouth after which it is forced inside the cup to soak the
fluid which are then disposed. 17

15. ii) Fluoride tablet program
• One tablet of 2.2mg sodium fluoride (contains 1mg fluoride) is given to each student.
• Then student chew and swishes the tablet for 1 min and swallows.
• This swish and swallow technique provides the benefit of topical as well as systemic
benefit during tooth development and maturation.
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16. 4c) SchoolWater Fluoridation program
• The procedure makes the fluoride available to
children for whom dental caries is a primary problem.
• The amount of fluoride added to school drinking
water should be greater than community water
supply that is 4-5 ppm.
• As children are present for a shorter period in the
school and they consume less water during that time.
• Studies have shown a reduction in dental caries by
about 40% among school children having school
drinking water fluoridation.
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17. 4d) Nutrition as a part of Preventive Program
• School lunch programs are designed to provide
child with nearly 1/3 rd of daily intake of
nutrients.
• Efforts are made in reducing the frequency and
intake of sugar products.
The main objective of the program is
a)To improve enrollment and attendance.
b)To reduce school drop outs.
c)To improve child health by improving
nutrition level.
d)To improve learning levels of children. 20

18. 4e) Sealant placement program
• The placement of pit and fissure sealant is ideal for
SOHP.
• Children from 1 st, 2 nd, 6 th and 7 th grades would be
desirable for intervention of pit and fissure lesions.
• 1 st and 2 nd grade because first permanent molars will
be sufficiently erupted while 6 th and 7 th second
permanent molars will be sufficiently erupted for
sealant placement.
4f) Science fair
• Dental projects should be included
• Support from local and state dental associations 21

19. 5. Referral for dental care
• Parents should be notified in writing about the
remediable defects.
• Referral to a dentist of their choice.
• Blanket referral- all children given referral cards.
6. Follow up dental inspections
• Steps should be taken by the school to correct defects
after issual of referral slips to children after dental
inspection.
• Leave concessions from school for dental treatment
are strongly recommended during school hours.
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20. Incremental Dental Care
• Incremental dental care is defined as periodic care so spaced that increments of dental
disease are treated at the earliest time consistent with proper diagnosis and operating
efficiency in such a way that there is no accumulation of dental needs beyond the
minimum
• By George Cunningham in England in 1907.
• Consists of providing dental care for the lowest age group in the priority scale in the
first year and carrying it forward in subsequent years as far as funds permit, each year
adding a new class of children at the earliest available age.
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21. Advantages:
• Aims at prevention and maintenance.
• Initial cost is less.
• Man hours for initial care is less.
• Early lesions of dental caries are treated before pulpal involvement.
• Topical fluorides and other preventive measures
• Periodontal disease is interrupted at or near beginning.
• Child develops habit of visiting the dentist periodically.
• The program helps the community to obtain a favorable impression on the dentist.
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22. Disadvantages:
• Time consuming.
• Exhaustion of financial resources.
• Deciduous teeth given unnecessary priority.
• Interruptions in dental care program.
• Inertia in seeking private dental care.
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23. Comprehensive Dental Care
• Comprehensive dental care is the meeting of a accumulated dental needs at the time
a population group is taken into the programme (initial care) and the detection and
correction of new increments of dental disease on a semi-annual or other periodic
basis(maintenance care).
• Preventive measures are aimed at minimizing disease are a part of comprehensive
dental care
• Services are provided not only to eliminate pain and infection but also to provide
services from “womb to tomb”
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24. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S (WHO’S) GLOBAL SCHOOL HEALTH INITITAIVE
The strategies are:
• Research to improve school health programs
• Building capacity to advocate for improved school health programs
• Strengthening national capacities
• Creating networks and alliances for the development of health promoting schools.
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25. “Learning about your oral health” – A prevention-
oriented school Programme
• Developed by ADA in 1971.
• Goal –To develop knowledge, skills and attitudes
needed for prevention of dental diseases.
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SOME SCHOOL ORAL HEALTH PROGRAMME

26. Texas Statewide Preventive Dentistry Programme-TATTLETOOTH PROGRAMME
• 1974 – 1976.
• Texas Dental Health Professional organization,Texas Department of Health andTexas
Education Agency.
• 1989 –TattleTooth ll was developed.
• Goal –To reduce dental disease and develop positive dental habits to last a lifetime.
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Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Future
• Launched by Colgate, 2008
• Was introduced to make children the true ambassadors of oral health.
• The children learnt about good oral health practices and also helped in spreading the
message of good oral hygiene to the community.

27. • Minnesota health department - Demonstration programmes for caries prevention and
control, dental health education and dental care
• Dental care was rendered by a group of 5 dentists.
• Topical fluoride treatments.
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Askov Dental Health Education
THETA -Teenage Health EducationTeaching Assistants
• Developed by US public health service division of dentistry.
• Utilizes qualified dental personnel to train interested high school students to teach
preventive dentistry to elementary students
• Goal is to give young children the knowledge and skills to start preventive practices

28. North Carolina Statewide Preventive Dental Health Programme
• First statewide programme .
• The largest and most comprehensive of all state public health programmes in US.
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Project Head Start
• Largest pre school program in US.
• Established in 1965.
• 3 to 5 year old group.
• Children from low income families and children with disabilities.

29. REFERENCES
• Essentials of Preventive and Community Dentistry- Dr. Soben Peter
• Textbook of Preventive and Community Dentistry - SS Hiremath
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30. THANKYOU 34