Introduction:

dental caries can be considered a juvenile disease, and a significant increase in cariogenic activity has been confirmed between the ages of 11-15 years.

Objective:

to assess the educational program on dental caries in fifth-grade students at Antonio Maceo Grajales elementary school in La Sierpe municipality, Sancti Spiritus province.

Methods:

an educational intervention study was carried out, in the period from September 2018 to June 2020. The target group matched with the sample, which comprised the totality of children who were attending the fifth-grade (55). Variables such as age, general and specific oral health knowledge, specific oral health attitudes and practices, teeth-brush efficacy and effectiveness of the educational program were analyzed. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were applied.

Results:

of the schoolchildren studied the 52,7 % were female. Before applying the educational program, 67,2 % of the children did not correctly identify their type of dentition, 46,3 % identified some cariogenic food, 12,7 % knew about the positive effects of fluoride; at the end of the program, more than 89 % of the schoolchildren improved their knowledge. In relation to knowledge, attitudes and practices on oral health, more than 60 % were deficient; after that, favorable results were obtained in more than 87 %.

Conclusions:

the educational intervention proved to be an accurate method, which proved the effectiveness of the program implemented.

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