Effectiveness of Puppet Show Regarding Oral Health in Terms of Knowledge and Oral Health Status of Primary School Children at Selected Primary School of Ambala

Abstract

Oral health is an integral part of general health and is essential for well being. The 60–90% of school children worldwide has dental cavities. The oral health diseases are preventable by dental health education and behavioral modifications towards maintenance of oral health. The study was aimed to assess and evaluate the knowledge and oral health status of primary school children before and after the administration of puppet show regarding oral health and to determine the association of level of knowledge and oral health status of primary school children with selected personal variables. A pre experimental research study with ‘one group pre test –post test’ design was conducted in selected primary school of Mullana, Ambala. The structured knowledge questionnaire and observational checklist was used for assessment of knowledge and oral health status of primary school children once before and after the administration of the puppet show regarding the oral health. A total of 100 participants were included in the study. The findings were the mean post test knowledge score (14.48) was higher than the mean pre test knowledge score (7.67) with the mean difference 6.81 and the ‘t’ value 46.5 was statistically significant (P<0.05). The mean post test oral health status score (6.54) was higher than the mean pre test oral health status score (5.21) with mean difference 1.33 and computed ‘t’ value 13.26 was significant statistically (P<0.05). There was no significant association of knowledge and oral health status score with selected personal variables (except one variable, i.e., mother’s occupation with post test knowledge scores). The results revealed that the puppet show regarding oral health was effective in enhancing the knowledge and improving oral health status of primary school children.