Dental Health Care Program with Activity-Based Learning Education among Village Health Volunteers, Tambon Koh-lanta Noi, Amphoe Koh-lanta, Changwat Krabi

Abstract

This study aims to compare the mean scores of oral health knowledge and plaque assessment results before and after participation in an activity-based oral health care program among village health volunteers in Koh Lanta Noi Subdistrict, Koh Lanta District, Krabi Province. The study also examines the impact of the activity-based oral health care program on participation. The sample consisted of 25 village health volunteers from Koh Lanta Noi Subdistrict, Koh Lanta District, Krabi Province. The sample size was determined using the G*Power program. Research instruments included a knowledge test on oral health care and an oral health data recording form. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the mean scores of oral health care knowledge before and after participation in the program. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and minimum-maximum values, were used for data analysis.

The results indicated that the mean oral health care knowledge scores before and after participation in the program were (36.04 ± 4.69) and (47.36 ± 1.60), respectively, with a statistically significant difference at the .05 level (p-value < 0.001). The mean knowledge score increased after participation in the program. Plaque assessment results showed that the mean plaque score after participation (5.40 ± 2.06) was significantly lower than before participation (14.88 ± 1.24) at the .05 level (p-value < 0.001). These findings align with an increase in the mean tooth-brushing skill score after participation in the program.