Abstract
PURPOSE: To assess the impact of participation in a group oral health education course on oral hygiene in Romanian military students compared to a non-participant control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 318 participants was enrolled from 805 recruited students. Baseline and 6-month post-intervention Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) scores were compared between an oral health education intervention (OHE) group (N = 159) and a control group (N = 159) using Student's t-test. All participants received individualised instruction; only those in the OHE group participated in interactive group oral-health training. RESULTS: Post-intervention OHI-S scores improved statistically significantly (p< 0.05) in both groups compared to baseline scores. The OHE group's post-intervention OHI-S scores were statistically significantly better (p< 0.05) than the control group's intervention scores. Women had better OHI-S scores than men at both time points. CONCLUSIONS: An interactive educational module produced favorable oral health results. It would be appropriate to provide an oral health course to military students aimed at supporting the maintenance of good oral health.