Children with poor oral health status were more likely to experience dental pain, miss school, and perform poorly in school. Studies show that school children were more commonly afflicted with teeth and gum diseases usually caused by poor hygiene. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of lecture with return demonstration and posters on proper tooth brushing skills and dental health status among grade 1 pupils in Biayon Elementary School (experimental group) and Sinai Elementary School (control group), in the Municipality of Sergio Osmeña Sr., Zamboanga del Norte. There were a total of 70 respondents involved in the study – 36 in experimental group and 34 in the control. The skills on proper tooth brushing and dental health status, which were divided into 4 criteria – (1) absence of oral debris, (2) absence of gingivitis, (3) properly cleaned tongue surfaces, and (4) absence of dental caries, were separately assessed before and after the intervention. The skills on proper tooth brushing technique were evaluated by one recruited skills evaluator, guided by the adopted 7-item checklist corresponding to the steps on proper brushing of teeth. Meanwhile, the dental health status were assessed and evaluated by one dentist. On pre-intervention assessment, the Independent Sample T-test was used to compare the results of both groups on proper tooth brushing skills, while Pearson Chi-Square Test and Fisher Exact Test were utilized for the dental health status. The results show that the skills on proper tooth brushing, as well as the dental health status on all criteria, of both groups of respondents were comparable with p-values of > 0.05. A lecture on dental health with return demonstration of proper tooth brushing technique, as well as distribution of posters illustrating the steps on proper brushing of teeth, were conducted to the experimental group while the control group had none. 14 weeks after the intervention, utilizing the Post-Hoc Test, the experimental group’s skills on proper tooth brushing significantly improved with p-value of 0.000 while the control group’s result had no significant difference with 0.995 p-value. Utilizing the McNemar’s Test, the dental health status on oral debris, gingivitis, and properly clean tongue surfaces also significantly improved after the intervention with p-values of 0.000. However, there were no significant difference on the criterion absence of dental caries on both groups of respondents. The results of this study concludes that the educational interventions conducted were effective in improving the skills on proper tooth brushing, as well as the dental health status on oral debris, gingivitis, and properly clean tongue surfaces. However, there was no positive effect of the intervention on the incidence of dental caries. It was recommended by this study that follow-up intervention should be conducted to over regular intervals as compared to a solitary approach. Also, extension of post-intervention period to 6 months or more to evaluate the impact on long-term memory, and the use of other methods of interventions, such as the use of fluoridated toothpaste, should also be considered in future studies.

Keyword: proper toothbrushing Dental Health