A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Video Assisted Teaching Program on Knowledge and Practice Regarding Oral Hygiene among Pre-School Children between 3-5 Years in Selected Primary Schools at Vellore

Abstract

Background of the Study According to a school health survey carried out in India, Dental caries is one of the most common health problems affecting children in school. As a result, they recommended including a dental exam in a school health programme at least once a year. Nurses take part in teaching parents, kids, and teachers about oral hygiene. However, it has never been demonstrated that sloppy teeth brushing can stop dental cavities. The effectiveness of plaque removal depends on the type of toothbrush used. Objectives of the Study

• To assess the pre-test and post-test level of knowledge and practice regarding oral Hygiene among preschool children in the experimental group and control group.

• To assess the effectiveness of video video-assisted programme regarding oral hygiene among preschool children in the experimental group and control group.

• To find out the correlation between the level of knowledge and practice regarding oral hygiene among preschool children. • To find out the association between pre-test level of knowledge and practice regarding oral hygiene among preschool children with their selected demographic variables in the experimental group.

• To find out the association between pre-test knowledge and practice regarding oral hygiene among preschool children with their selected demographic variables in the control group. Methodology The quantitative research approach was adopted for this study. A quasi-experimental design was used in the study to assess the effectiveness of a video-assisted teaching programme on knowledge and practice regarding oral hygiene among preschool children in selected schools at Vellore. The study was conducted for 30 selected samples of preschool children from K.G, L.K.G, and U.K.G children in Susan’s kinder garden school, Vellore. The researcher selected subjects who fulfilled the inclusion criteria using sampling. Following this, the subjects were interviewed choosing the semi-structured questionnaires to assess the knowledge and observational checklist to assess the practice regarding oral hygiene and fones brushing techniques and after a week post-test was conducted. Results In the experimental group, the mean pre-test score was 7.3 with a standard deviation of 2.8, while the mean post-test score was 15.7 with a standard deviation of 2.12 in the experimental group. The average disparity was 8.4. At the 0.05 level, the obtained "t" value of 14.8 was highly significant. The estimated t value is the same as the mean pre-test practice score of 3.4 with SD1.4 and the post-test practice score of 8.3 with SD 2.9, the calculated t value is 17.5 which is highly significant at p<0.05 level. There is a significant difference between the mean pre and post-test levels of knowledge and practice among preschool children in the experimental group. Hence the video-assisted teaching programme was effective in improving the level of knowledge and practice among pre-school children in the experimental group. Conclusion The brushing methods used by Fones were the least efficient, according to this study. Training in mouth hygiene should be based on a child's motor skill level and developmental stage. It is crucial to consider variations in tooth-brushing ability, especially with younger children. Each child needs intense customized training to achieve the technique's desired effects.