Educational intervention concerning knowledge of dental caries in sixth grade schoolchildren

Introduction: dental caries is among the oral diseases of greatest health importance due to its magnitude, therefore knowledge about it is a determining factor in its prevention. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention concerning knowledge of dental caries in sixth grade schoolchildren. Method: a non-observational, quasi-experimental, before-after study was carried out without a control group, at Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz Elementary School in Morón municipality in sixth grade schoolchildren, during the period from December to January 2020-2021. A sample of 30 patients was chosen by simple random sampling. Results: there was a predominance of female sex (56,7 %); 50 % of the students were 10 years old. A significant increase was observed (p˂0,01) after the intervention was applied, from the level of adequate knowledge regarding the risk factors for dental caries (26,7 % vs. 96,7 %), preventive measures (13,3 % vs. 96,7 %) and the lifestyles favoring the onset of caries (20 % vs. 100 %). Conclusions: the application of the educational intervention increased the level of knowledge concerning dental caries, which favors a better perception of risk factors and provides tools for its prevention, diagnosis and treatment.