272527 Using Serious Games to Teach Good Oral Health Habits to Tweens

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 1:08 PM - 1:25 PM

Jacqueline Elizabeth Pickrell, PhD , Department of Dental Public Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Pre-adolescence is an important time for the teaching and implementation of health practices as children become physically capable of self-care and begin making more decisions for themselves. While parents' influence is still evident, there is a need for novel ways to motivate positive health behaviors among tweens themselves; computer games are emerging as one potential way to do this. Today's tween is technologically saavy and understands the world of gaming like never before. This presentation will describe the development of Attack of the S. mutans!, a 3D video game in which the natural system of oral biofilms comes alive, making it more accessible and understandable through visualization and direct experience.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Define serious games. Explain the opportunities that serious games offer for communicating good oral health behaviors to younger persons.

Keywords: Oral Health, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been involved with the Attack of the S. mutans! serious game since its inception.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5202.0: Effective Oral Health Communications Across the Lifespan