Abstract
Objective To identify oral health promotion practices which have been shown to be effective or ineffective. To highlight practices which need further research and evaluation.
Data sources Studies were identified from Medline, printed indices, personal contact and from reference lists of retrieved articles for the period 1982 to January 1996.
Study selection Papers whose aims were to evaluate oral health promotion or describe policy and practice in Oral Health Promotion. Papers relating to other health promotional activities e.g. diet and nutrition were not included unless specific oral health indicators were used for evaluation. All selected studies were assessed according to 9 quality criteria for study design and 3 criteria for value of findings for oral health gain. A random selection of the papers was assessed independently by the three researches to ensure consistency. Differences were discussed and resolved.
Main findings 230 papers were initially identified 113 not fitting the review criteria were excluded. 18 papers with strong study design were identified including 3 RCTs. The report describes in some detail a wide selection of identified papers and also includes a list where papers are identified as having evidence of effectiveness, unclear evidence or evidence of ineffectiveness. A table allows identification of studies carried out by location and provider.
Conclusions The review reaches 17 different conclusions among which are; there is clear evidence that oral health education/promotion can be effective in bringing about changes in people's knowledge. It is unclear whether one-off oral health promotion initiatives are sufficient to improve individuals' oral health significantly for long periods. Water fluoridation is effective at preventing dental caries.
Sprod A, Anderson R, Treasure E T. Effective Oral Health Promotion. Literature Review. Health Promotion Wales. Technical Report 20 1996
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Address: A Sprod, Dental Public Health Unit, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK
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Green, J. Oral health promotion can be effective in changing knowledge. Evid Based Dent 1, 12 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6490006
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6490006