SCHOOL DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM

Schools provide an important setting for promoting health , as they reach over one billion children worldwide  and through them, the school staff ,families and the community as a   whole.  Poor oral health can have detrimental effect on children’s quality of life, their performance at school and their success in later life.  Although most oral diseases are preventable , not all individuals and communities benefit fully from the available preventive measures. The school children are not exception to this. Children are most frequently the main priority group.

School health programme is a programme for school health services under national rural health mission, which has been necessitated and launched in fulfilling the vision of national rural health mission to provide effective health care to population throughout the country. 

School health programmes is an economical and powerful means of improving the dental health in future generation .  Children with poor oral health are 12 times more likely to have restricted-activity days.                                                                                                         

 School health is an important branch of community health. Since children are the most important victims of dental diseases, programmes aimed at oral health of the school children are of great importance in promoting oral health of the community. 

 Schools can provide a supportive environment for promoting oral health. For example, provision of safe water and sanitation facilities are essential for tooth-brushing activities in schools. School policies and practices on healthy diet that ensure healthy foods and drinks are provided in all areas, particularly policies on sugar intake, serve to promote healthy dietary behaviours from an early age. More importantly, schools may be the only place for children, who are at the highest risk of dental disease to have access to oral health services. This is particularly true in many developing countries compounding by a lack of dental personnel. With adequate training, school teachers can play an important role in oral health activities. Schools can also provide an important network and channel to the local community.