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How is oral health education conducted in Finnish health centers?

The oral health education (OHE) given in Finnish health centers is mostly implemented by dental assistants and hygienists. However, there is no exact information concerning the distribution of OHE work and the working methods among individual health educators. The aims of this study were to assess 1) the time used for OHE by the dental professionals who bear most of the responsibility for OHE in health centers, and to evaluate 2) the collaboration between OH-educators and the parents of schoolchildren, school personnel and the other health care personnel and 3) the sources of the OHE knowledge and skills of these OH-educators and their methods according to their work load. The data for this study were collected from 323 OH-educators. About one fourth (28%) of the OH-educators used 40% or more of their working time for group OHE and one third (33%) used 40% or more of their time for individual OHE. These workers were considered to be full-time OH-educators. The mean age of the OH-educators was 36 yr. The mean length of the OHE career was 8 yr. The most common OHE methods were a usual type of school lesson or a lesson in which the audience was questioned. Slides, models, transparencies and leaflets were the most general visual aids used.