The Study of Caries-Free Status and Oral Health Promotion among Preschool Children in Children Development Centers in Ubon Ratchathani Province
Keywords:
Primary teeth caries free in preschool children, Knowledge-attitude-motivation of childcare teachers, Oral health promotion activities in early childhood development centersAbstract
This study explored caries-free status and oral health promotion among preschool children in children development centers in Ubon Ratchathani Province. Data were collected from 279 childcare teachers in these centers and from 136 public health service personnel in the corresponding service areas. Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed for descriptive statistics.
The findings revealed that only 50.2% of children development centers were caries-free. Most teachers demonstrated high levels of knowledge, attitudes, and motivation, regarding oral health promotion (95.3%, 69.9%, and 62.4%, respectively). Most children development centers performed exceptionally well in implementing oral health promotion activities (82.8%–93.9%) and demonstrated good management practices (56.3%). Family and community participation was rated at a high level (54.1%), and health service units provided comprehensive services across all aspects (87.5%–94.1%). However, nearly half of the centers still had caries-free rates below the target, indicating that overall effectiveness had not yet been fully achieved. Therefore, comprehensive and sustainable measures are needed, including early caries prevention strategies, in-depth research to understand the underlying issues better, and enhanced oral health promotion mechanisms within children development centers, to ensure more effective outcomes.
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