Application of Community Participation Concepts to Develop an Oral Hygiene Guideline for Preschool children in Island, Phangnga province

Abstract

The preschool children on Mhaknoi Island had a high prevalence of caries and high dental plaque level. Parents had inadequate knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Lack of coordination in care among childcare stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of community participation concepts to develop an appropriate oral hygiene guideline for preschool children collaboration with all stakeholders: parents, childcare teachers, the school principal and dental professionals. The population consist of 69 preschool children and 69 Parents. These procedures were followed: 1) Do focus group discussion. 2) Hold a meeting to implement the action plan 3) Implement the action plan with the following two activities: Demonstrate how to use a disclosing agent to check the cleanliness of teeth and create an oral hygiene workshop using active learning. 4) Evaluating the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of parents and dental plaque of preschool children. Descriptive analysis and the chi-square test of evaluation discovered that parents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices improved. After three years, there was a decrease in caries. As a result, a new approach to oral hygiene for preschool children can be achievable and provide a sustainable guide. It has been discovered that continuing to participate improves children's oral health by encouraging those involved to adapt their roles to the context of the community.