Assessment of Oral Health Education with the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index in Military Students – A Comparative Study

Purpose: To assess the impact of participation in a group oral health education course on oral hygiene in Romanian military students compared to a non-participant control group.
Materials and Methods: A sample of 318 participants was enrolled from 805 recruited students. Baseline and 6-month post-intervention Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) scores were compared between an oral health education intervention (OHE) group (N = 159) and a control group (N = 159) using Student’s t-test. All participants received individualised instruction; only those in the OHE group participated in interactive group oral-health training.
Results: Post-intervention OHI-S scores improved statistically significantly (p 0.05) in both groups compared to baseline scores. The OHE group’s post-intervention OHI-S scores were statistically significantly better (p 0.05) than the control group’s intervention scores. Women had better OHI-S scores than men at both time points.
Conclusions: An interactive educational module produced favorable oral health results. It would be appropriate to provide an oral health course to military students aimed at supporting the maintenance of good oral health. Schlagwörter: dental hygiene counseling, oral health, patient education, Simplified Oral Health Index, young adults