Improving oral health status of preschool children using motivational interviewing method

Abstract

Background: Oral diseases are common chronic diseases that are affected by human health

behavior. One-way to promote health behaviors can be achieved through education. The present

study aims to assess the effect of an oral health education program using motivational interviewing

(MI) method on oral health status of preschool children.

Materials and Methods: This study recruited 222 volunteer children and their parents from 10

elementary schools into a community trial. At baseline, plaque, gingival and decayed, missing, and

fi lled teeth indexes were measured in the children. They were randomly allocated into test groups

where they and their parents received oral health education using MI and the control group received

traditional oral health education. The test group had recall and postal reminder during 6 months of

the study, but there was no reminder for the control group. After 6 months, the same oral health

indexes were measured. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA)

by t-test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon signed ranks test. P < 0.05 was considered as signifi cant.

Results: The results showed that after both oral health education programs, differences of plaque index

(PI) (P = 0.000) and gingival index (P = 0.000) were signifi cant between the two groups. The number

of children with healthy gingiva and low PI were more frequent in the test group after intervention.

Conclusion: Considering the limitations of this study, oral health status of children after education

of parents using MI was observed, and it should be considered in oral health education programs.

Key Words: Iran, motivational interviewing, oral education, education, preschool children