A comparison of dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led and self-learning strategies for educating school children aged 10-13 years about prevention of oral diseases including tooth decay, gum disease and oral cancer

A cluster randomized controlled clinical trial of school-based oral health education strategies for adolescents aged 10-13 years

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN39391017

Enrollment

1800

Registered

2012-02-03

Start date

2004-01-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2016-10-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Oral health education for preventing dental caries, gingivitis and oral cancer Oral Health Preventing dental caries, gingivitis and oral cancer

Interventions

Dentist-led group Teacher-led group Peer-led group Self-learning group Control group Ten boys and ten girls schools each were randomly selected from the respective lists of public and private school

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Schools (clusters): Public and private schools including both boys? and girls? schools in the two selected towns of Karachi, Pakistan Study subjects: Students of randomly chosen sections (one per school) of class six in the selected schools with a positive parental consent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Schools: 1. The schools having only one section of class six 2. Schools having less than thirty five students per section Study subjects: 1. Students with a negative parental consent 2. Students not willing to participate

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Assessed through an oral examination of the study subjects included: 1. Incidence and severity of dental caries measured through Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index (DMFT) which indicated the number of teeth affected by dental caries in an individual?s mouth 2. Change in the prevalence and incidence of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) 3. Improvement of oral hygiene status (OHS) measured through a decrease in the number of sextants of oral cavity having dental plaque, bleeding on probing and calculus. The total OHS score for an individual ranged from 0 to 12. Measures were repeated five times (including baseline in January 2004) for the dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led groups in February 2004 (evaluation I), August 2004 (evaluation II), August 2005 (evaluation III) and February 2006 (evaluation IV). The self learning and control groups were measured at baseline and at evaluation IV with the other study groups	—

Measure

Time frame

Assessed through an oral examination of the study subjects included: 1. Incidence and severity of dental caries measured through Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index (DMFT) which indicated the number of teeth affected by dental caries in an individual?s mouth 2. Change in the prevalence and incidence of oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) 3. Improvement of oral hygiene status (OHS) measured through a decrease in the number of sextants of oral cavity having dental plaque, bleeding on probing and calculus. The total OHS score for an individual ranged from 0 to 12. Measures were repeated five times (including baseline in January 2004) for the dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led groups in February 2004 (evaluation I), August 2004 (evaluation II), August 2005 (evaluation III) and February 2006 (evaluation IV). The self learning and control groups were measured at baseline and at evaluation IV with the other study groups

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Knowledge about oral health (OHK) measured on a scale with scores ranging from 0 to 12 2. Preventive oral health behavior (OHB) about gingivitis and OSMF/ oral cancer measured on a scale having scores ranging from 0 to 12 Measures were repeated five times (including baseline in January 2004) for the dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led groups in February 2004 (evaluation I), August 2004 (evaluation II), August 2005 (evaluation III) and February 2006 (evaluation IV). The self learning and control groups were measured at baseline and at evaluation IV with the other study groups	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Knowledge about oral health (OHK) measured on a scale with scores ranging from 0 to 12 2. Preventive oral health behavior (OHB) about gingivitis and OSMF/ oral cancer measured on a scale having scores ranging from 0 to 12 Measures were repeated five times (including baseline in January 2004) for the dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led groups in February 2004 (evaluation I), August 2004 (evaluation II), August 2005 (evaluation III) and February 2006 (evaluation IV). The self learning and control groups were measured at baseline and at evaluation IV with the other study groups

—

Countries

Pakistan

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026