Dental Hygiene Education Case Study

At the age of 6, permanent teeth begin to appear within a child’s smile. Around 12 years-old, these teeth become predominantly permanent, with an average of 32 teeth in total (FDI World Dental Federation, 2015). Education surrounding dental health is imperative before, after and throughout these stages of dentition development to ensure good oral habits and prevent dental disease. However, inequalities surrounding access to oral hygiene education is prevalent throughout countries impacted by poverty and marginalization. This includes the country of Guatemala, where 75 percent of the indigenous population lives in poverty, and children experience significantly high rates of dental caries and periodontal disease as a result of these socio-behavioural
However, by grade six, this attendance rate significantly decreases to about forty percent (Education, 2017). It is noted, that because of a lack of education regarding basic dental hygiene, access to high-sugar content food and beverages, as well as poor diet, tooth decay is seen to be a devastating problem for those living in Guatemala (Leavitt, 2014). Choosing to focus dental hygiene teaching in schools with those aged five to twelve is appropriate as the level of those attending primary school is so great during this time. Children can then take these practices and share them with those living in their home, further spreading the reach of this invaluable
Children, who may not otherwise have access to clean water, can come to school and partake in safe dental health practices. Not only will these practices help to educate but will assist in decreasing cavities and negative consequences that can come along with them, such as pain, impacting the ability to focus in school and learn new skills (Kwan and Peterse, 2003). Most notably, prevention and upstream confrontation of health issues such as poor dental hygiene reduces the overall cost of health services while also improving quality of life (). In poorer countries such as Guatemala, where health care systems are underdeveloped, this upstream approach to health education is extremely important in order to facilitate citizen’s autonomous health decision-making. Furthermore, implementation of educational modalities directed at both 5-12 year olds as well as their educators creates opportunities for further unstructured dental health