In my fourth semester at the DH program, my group and I did a community service/outreach activity for the Public Health class. My group and I decided it would be a great opportunity to demonstrate oral hygiene care to children, teachers and the parents.
My role in this project was to help design the poster, to participate in the demonstration of the OHI of toothbrushing to the children, and help question the teacher and the parents about the children’s nutrition. On the written paper, I was responsible for two contents out of the eight that were to be provided in the written assignment. My contribution helped the project be more organized, the research was precise, and the project was completed in a timely manner.
We visited a day care center and gave an oral hygiene orientation to the children ages 4-5 and their teacher. The children had good knowledge about tooth brushing and were excited to learn new factors about toothbrushing (example of a new factor to them was the amount of toothpaste needed for toothbrushing). We asked their teacher what are the type of food and portions they serve to the children. We made a questionnaire for the parents before the orientation started about their nutrition. It helped guide us on how the child’s nutrition is affecting the child’s oral cavity.
The purpose of this project was to identify in the community the level of knowledge of nutrition and oral hygiene care within the household. My group and I realized that it was based on the child’s parent’s educational level and socioeconomic status. There are several parents that do consider a nutrition based on fruits/vegetables and good oral hygiene an important factor leading to a healthy life. Unfortunately, there are parents within the community that base their nutrition and oral hygiene on what they can afford. Due to not having enough money, they buy food that is high in sugar and fat because it is less expensive. When it comes to oral hygiene products, they buy what is on sale and not based on the specific need to improve their oral hygiene.
My group and I concluded that in order to guide a community to live a healthier lifestyle, one must take into consideration the educational level and socioeconomic status to help a family improve their oral and overall health.
Pictures of the oral hygiene orientation may be found in the link below:
