El juego: una alternativa en la promoción de la salud oral

Abstract

Throughout a period of 2 years, two different educational approaches to promote oral health were tried out in 109 children belonging to two primary school grades (l and 3 grades) of two different school, located in a marginal urban area of Roldanillo (Valle, Colombia) (total population of Roldanillo: 32000 inhabitants). In one institution (Thomas I Esquivel School) shared play, art and manual work were used. In the other (John F. Kennedy School) the basic method was that of traditional lectures with the help of some teaching aids. A significant reduction in the numbers of dental plaque was found in the grades 1 and , both in the short term (1 school year) and at the medium term (2 school years), in the children taught through play. In the school where the teaching was done through lectures, reductibn- in the num ber of plaques could be detected only in the children of one school grade (1°) in the short termo. The reduction in the proportion of children with plaques was greater in the school where paly was used as the educational technique in the promotion of oral health.