Effectiveness of an oral health educational intervention for individuals with special health care needs from a southern Brazilian city

ABSTRACT Aim To assess the effects of an oral health education strategy targeted at students with disabilities. Methods This quasi‐experimental study included students aged 7 to 24 years. The intervention was conducted for 5 weeks and divided into 2 phases: (1) comprising supervised toothbrushing and educational activities to students; (2) verbal oral health instructions and oral hygiene demonstration targeted at the caregivers. A clinical examination was conducted to evaluate the dental debris and gingival bleeding before the intervention, and the Wilcoxon test was performed after phase 1 and 2 for comparisons between paired samples. Results A significant decrease in dental debris and gingival indices compared with baseline occurred after phase 1 (p < 0.05). After the meeting with caregivers (phase 2), there was significant decrease in the debris‐index (p < 0.05). Conclusions Providing a simple and short‐term educational intervention to students with disabilities had a positive impact on their oral health.