Primary school-based interventions (one or more of: school health policy, oral health education, healthy school environment, access to oral health services, community involvement) vs usual practice
Dental caries prevalence measured by dmft or DMFT/S score greater than one · Primary school children (aged 3-16 years) attending primary school in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
School-based interventions may reduce the prevalence of dental caries (RR 0.70, favouring intervention), but the certainty of evidence is very low.
3 findings from 1 review
- Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomesPost-intervention; follow-up varied across studies (interventions ranged from <2 years to >=2 years and longer) · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean)RR 0.70 [0.53, 0.94]4 studies · 2968 participantsVery low
- Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes<2 years · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Intervention duration <2 yearsRR 0.95 [0.75, 1.21]2 studiesGRADE not reported
- Effectiveness of primary school-based interventions in improving oral health of children in low- and middle-income… 2022 All outcomes>=2 years · Primary schools in low- and middle-income countries (Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, eastern Mediterranean) · Intervention duration >=2 yearsRR 0.58 [0.40, 0.84]2 studiesGRADE not reported