Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41747366
A Meta-analysis of Oral Health Interventions in Children: Impacts on Knowledge, Behaviour, and Clinical Outcomes.
Fathaniard Arsy Huda, Yang Lin, Sun Jiangling, et al. · International dental journal · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1016/j.identj.2025.109374
Findings
Population Children aged 5 to 12 years
11 findings
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral health behaviour score Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD 1.52 [0.87, 2.17] GRADE not reported 18 studies · 5218 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S) Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries · Sensitivity analysis: excluding studies found only via Google Scholar | SMD -1.0 [-1.52, -0.49] GRADE not reported 7 studies · 814 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Calculus index Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD -0.15 [-0.5, 0.21] GRADE not reported 6 studies · 1039 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Debris index Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD -1.38 [-1.97, -0.8] GRADE not reported 9 studies · 1721 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Gingival index Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD -1.39 [-2.12, -0.65] GRADE not reported 7 studies · 1301 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Plaque index Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries · Sensitivity analysis: excluding studies found only via Google Scholar | SMD -1.4 [-1.76, -1.04] GRADE not reported 15 studies · 1797 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral health knowledge score Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries · Sensitivity analysis: excluding studies found only via Google Scholar | SMD 2.04 [1.54, 2.54] GRADE not reported 24 studies · 5889 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral health knowledge score Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD 1.98 [1.54, 2.42] GRADE not reported 31 studies · 6409 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Plaque index Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD -1.34 [-1.72, -0.96] GRADE not reported 16 studies · 2013 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S) Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries | SMD -1.18 [-1.65, -0.71] GRADE not reported 8 studies · 964 participants |
| Behaviour-based oral health interventions (oral health education and promotion) | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest design, intervention groups only) | Oral health behaviour score Post-intervention vs pre-intervention (durations under 1 month to over 1 year) · School and community based programs in 13 countries · Sensitivity analysis: excluding studies found only via Google Scholar | SMD 1.32 [0.63, 2.02] GRADE not reported 17 studies · 5068 participants |
Included primary studies 47
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhang 2024 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | 2 other reviews | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kumar 2015 Effect of Conventional and Game-based Teaching on Oral Health Status of Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PMID:26379380 | 2015 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Malik 2017 Implementation of Game-based Oral Health Education vs Conventional Oral Health Education on Children's Oral Health-related Knowledge and… PMID:29104385 | 2017 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Shi 2018 Refractoriness to muscarinic and adrenergic agonists in the rat parotid: responses of adenosine and guanosine cyclic 3', 5'-monophosphates. PMID:201829 | 1977 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Swe 2021 Effectiveness of oral health education on 8- to 10-year-old school children in rural areas of the Magway Region, Myanmar. PMID:33388030 | 2021 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Agung 2025 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Alkilzy 2019 Improving Toothbrushing with a Smartphone App: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial DOI:10.1159/000499868 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Alkilzy 2019 Improving Toothbrushing with a Smartphone App: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. PMID:31132765 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Alwayli 2015 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Andriyani 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Bagaray 2016 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Blake 2015 School-Based Educational Intervention to Improve Children’s Oral Health–Related Knowledge DOI:10.1177/1524839914560568 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Blake 2015 School-Based Educational Intervention to Improve Children's Oral Health-Related Knowledge. PMID:25445980 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Evans 2013 A school-based oral health intervention in East London: the Happy Teeth fluoride varnish programme. PMID:24157788 | 2013 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| GeethaPriya 2019 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Halawany 2018 Effectiveness of oral health education intervention among female primary school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PMID:29942102 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Hatta 2023 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kantohe 2016 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kashyap 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kashyap 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kristianto 2018 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kurniawati 2023 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ma 2022 An improved procedure for the purification of plasma membranes from Dictyostelium discoideum. PMID:202379 | 1977 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mariati 2024 Insomnia and the physiology of sleep. PMID:202431 | 1978 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Markeviciute 2015 Effectiveness of a Motivation and Practical Skills Development Methods on the Oral Hygiene of Orphans Children in Kaunas, Lithuania. PMID:26539284 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mohamed 2025 Effectiveness of oral health educational program on the knowledge and practice of institutionalized orphan children in Alexandria, Egypt. PMID:39572934 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mukhi 2018 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nguyen 2021 Impact of School-Based Oral Health Education on Vietnamese Adolescents: A 6-Month Study. PMID:33800242 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nourian 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Pan 2016 Cholesterol esterase biosynthesis in rat pancreatic AR42J cells. Post-transcriptional activation by gastric hormones. PMID:2016288 | 1991 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Pi 2024 [Theory and model in psychosomatic medicine--a historical sketch]. PMID:2024407 | 1991 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Potisomporn 2019 Oral Health Education Improved Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Plaque Scores in Thai Third-grade Students: A Randomised Clinical… PMID:31825024 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ramezaninia 2018 Comparison of the Effect of Toothbrushing Education Via Video, Lecture and Pamphlet on the Dental Plaque Index of 12-Year-Old Children DOI:10.3390/children5040050 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ramezaninia 2018 Comparison of the Effect of Toothbrushing Education Via Video, Lecture and Pamphlet on the Dental Plaque Index of 12-Year-Old Children. PMID:29641493 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Reca 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sadana 2017 Evaluation of the Impact of Oral Health Education on Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Plaque Control of School-going Children in the City of… PMID:29026698 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sahiti 2019 Impact of tooth brushing rhyme on the oral hygiene status of 6-7 year old children - an educational intervention study. PMID:31750444 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Saidah 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sharma 2023 Evaluation of peer role models as oral health education providers among school children in Mysuru, Karnataka, India. PMID:37288412 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Srivastava 2016 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Suresh 2023 Effectiveness of an oral health education intervention among 6–12-year-old children: A cluster randomized controlled trial DOI:10.1922/cdh_00164suresh06 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Suresh 2023 Effectiveness of an oral health education intervention among 6-12-year-old children: A cluster randomized controlled trial. PMID:36853187 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Yuan 2025 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zahara 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zarabadipour 2022 Effects of Educational Intervention on Dental Plaque Index in 9‐Year‐Old Children DOI:10.1155/2022/7339243 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zarabadipour 2022 Effects of Educational Intervention on Dental Plaque Index in 9-Year-Old Children. PMID:36330363 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Zotti 2019 Apps for oral hygiene in children 4 to 7 years: Fun and effectiveness. PMID:31636871 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Children aged 5 to 12 years | Children aged 5 to 12 years in 13 countries (n=44 studies) |
| Intervention | Oral health interventions targeting knowledge and behavior (education, promotion) | School and community oral health education interventions (game, video, lecture based) (n=44 studies) |
| Comparison | Pre-intervention baseline (pretest/posttest group design) | Pre-intervention baseline |
| Outcomes | Oral health knowledge scores, oral health behavior scores, plaque index, gingival index, OHI-S, debris index, calculus index | Knowledge (n=31 studies); behavior (n=18); plaque index (n=16); gingival index (n=7); OHI-S (n=8); debris index (n=9); calculus index (n=6) |
| Study designs | Prospective pretest/posttest group studies in English or Chinese, 2014 to 2024, with unadjusted pre and post means and SDs | Pretest/posttest quasi-experimental studies (n=44) |
| Timing | Not specified | Intervention duration under 1 month to over 1 year |