Does toothbrushing at school make a difference?

Background: The World Health Organization estimates 60-90% of school age children worldwide have dental caries. In the United States, dental disease is the most common chronic childhood disease, five times more common than asthma. Forty-two percent of third graders in this community have experienced dental cavities making dental disease a global problem with a significant local impact. Description: The America's Promise School Project (APSP) began as a partnership between the College of Nursing, two school districts, and the county health department, quickly identifying dental disease as a significant problem. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare pre and post dental examinations of three groups of school age children. Group 1 received standardized oral health education created by the American Dental Association, group 2 received the same education and the daily toothbrushing intervention, the control group received the traditional education provided by the school district. Lessons Learned: Information from Scotland's National Health Service Child Smile Core Program provided guidance during the planning and implementation phases of the project. Communication, creativity, perseverance, and the cooperation of the school districts were essential to the success of the study. Recommendations: The toothbrushing intervention coupled with standardized oral health education can potentially reduce the impact of dental disease in school age children. This global problem can be impacted locally with the establishment of effective health promotion education and activities for school age children. The recommendation to continue toothbrushing in schools would be beneficial in the fight against dental diease.