Karissa Grado

Morgan Fowler
Brittni Grusecki
Pathway Church Oral Health Program

1. Description of Site

Pathway Church is a non-denominational church located at 2326 on Nederland

Avenue in Port Neches, Texas 77651. This church was established in 2013 and
continues to grow. The youth groups that attend the church can range from 50-100
students every Wednesday and Sunday. These groups of students are compelled to
experience a real life relationship with the God of the universe and build a culture of
godly friendships, along with having tons of just plain FUN along the way (1).
Ministry to middle and high school students takes place Sundays after the worship
time, and also during Small Groups on Wednesdays from 6:30 pm- 8:00 pm (1). This
church is funded by tithes and offerings that are collected during Sunday church
services and attendees also have the option to donate online at pathwaylife.org. The
team leaders for this youth group are the Pastor and his wife, along with college
aged students. They are responsible for leading the youth group activities. (1)

2. Description of Target Group

Our target group consists of 34 adolescents ranging from ages 12-19. We first
addressed their needs by giving a pre-test questionnaire to evaluate their dental
status. After giving the survey we were able to calculate our data and establish our
need to implement an oral health program. Our data showed that out of 34
adolescents, 6 have bleeding gums when they brush, 25 don’t bleed at all, and 3 have
occasionally bleeding. Next, we established a flossing need, 8 have bleeding gums
when flossing, 25 don’t have any bleeding at all, and 1 has occasionally bleeding. We
then established if the children had regular professional 6-month cleanings, yearly
cleanings, or have never had a professional cleaning. We had 22 that went every 6
months, 5 who went yearly, and 7 that have never had a professional dental
cleaning. We asked how many have had a cavity and we had 18 with cavities that
were either filled or extracted, and 16 that have never had a diagnosed cavity. We
asked them their frequency of brushing consisting of morning and night. We had 27
that brush twice a day and 7 that brush once a day. We then asked the adolescent
their frequency of brushing consisting of once a day or more. We had 8 who flossed
daily and 25 who did not. We had 14 adolescents who used a mouth rinse with
fluoride and 18 who do not. Out of the 34 adolescents, we had 32 who drank sugary
drinks regularly and 2 who did not. We asked the adolescents the frequency of their
sugary drink consumption, this consisted of 21 who drink one daily, 8 who drink 2-3
a day, 2 who drink 4-5, and 2 who drink 6+ sugary drinks a day. We have 28
adolescents who chew gum and 5 who do not. The last question we asked was if
they currently have braces or not, we have 9 adolescents with braces and 25
without.
 3. Description of Staff Population

The staff of the youth consists of the Pastor, his wife, and 4 college aged youth
leaders. The weekly congregation is an average of 250 people that join together to
connect with God in a one-hour service that includes heart-felt worship and relevant
teaching (1). This church accepts people from all cultures and ages. (1)

4. Description of Services Provided

The youth groups are student lead and supervised by the Pastor, his wife, and the
college aged students. The groups meet every Wednesday from 6:30-8:00 pm and
Sundays from 10:45-11:45 am. The youth can also attend small groups that meet at
various times and days throughout the week. A four-week summary of the youth
groups routine is Week 1: Say a Prayer, Week 2: Sow a Seed, Week 3: Serve
Somebody, Week 4: Search and Rescue. (1)

5. Other Pertinent Data

As of 2012, the City of Port Neches no longer has to add fluoride to the water
system. There is enough fluoride in the raw water where we do not have to add any
under TCEQ state regulations. Phillip Pryor the supervisor over the water
department confirmed this information. (6)

6. Information Related to Dental Health

This is the first time an Oral Health program will be initiated at Pathway Church.
Preventive measures utilized at the church are community-fluoridated water. At the
church there is only one staff member that is knowledgeable and aware about oral
health. (1)

7. Dental Health Status

Among adolescents aged 12–19, 58% had experienced dental caries in permanent
teeth in 2011–2012. The prevalence of dental caries experience was higher among
adolescents aged 16–19 (67%) compared with those aged 12–15 (50%) (3).
Percent of children aged 2-17 years with a dental visit in the past year: 84.7%
(2015)
Percent of adults aged 18-64 with a dental visit in the past year: 64.0% (2015)

Goal:
Provide the students with a lifelong understanding and personal acceptance of
healthy nutritional habits and the value of dental care.

Objectives:
1. To educate our students on the prevention and control of oral diseases, such
as gingivitis and caries and will increase their knowledge by 50% by the end
of the oral health program.
2. To provide the knowledge and skills in maintaining optimal oral health by
teaching proper tooth brushing and flossing techniques and will increase
their knowledge by 50% by the end of the oral health program.
3. To incorporate healthy nutritional habits and the daily use of fluoride into
their oral health regimen by the end of the oral health program.

Rationale for Program:

The need for oral health care is the most prevalent unmet health care need among
children and adolescents (4). Because dental caries is a progressive and cumulative
disease that begins in early childhood and periodontal disease often begins in early
adolescence, teens have the highest disease rate of all child age groups (4). There
has been no oral health program previously implemented at Pathway Church (4).

Program Design:

A. Activities
 The purpose of our program is to increase the awareness of oral health
importance. After gathering our results from the assessment, the discussions
will include teaching basic brushing and flossing, the beneficial use of
fluoride, and nutrition effects on the oral cavity, such as caries. The sessions
will be performed at Pathway church on a weekly basis for a consecutive
three weeks. The sessions will be presented as follows:

1. Session one (Week one)

Adolescents
a. Presentation of the basic oral health techniques, such as proper
brushing and flossing using supplemental videos.
b. PowerPoint presentation explaining inflammation in the oral cavity,
such as gingivitis and periodontitis.
c. Discussion of importance of good oral hygiene, such as brushing for
two minutes twice daily, flossing daily, and regularly visiting the
dentist for a prophy.
This session will last thirty minutes and we will only need an available
projector for our presentation.

2. Session two (Week two)

Adolescents
a. Presentation of preventive methods, such as daily use of fluoride.
b. Cause and effects of carious lesions from eating and drinking acidic
foods and beverages.
c. Discuss and review previous topics, such as how to brush and floss.
d. Provide fresh fruit as a snack to encourage and educate healthy eating
habits.
This session will last thirty minutes and will require an available
projector for PowerPoint presentation.

3. Session three (Week three)

Adolescents
a. Review prior sessions.
b. Post-posttest will be given after discussion to ensure the knowledge
was obtained. No pre-test was given.
c. Students will receive goodie bags filled with items to improve their
oral health regimen.
This session will last thirty minutes and no extra items are needed.

B. Constraints and Alternative Strategies

Some constraints that may occur are loss of interest, lack of participation,
and attendance. Some alternative strategies we can implement to prevent
these constraints are including visual aids, providing prizes from correctly
engaging in our questions on previous lessons, and relate to their everyday
encounters.
 C. Resources
Personnel: The Pastor, his wife, and four college-aged youth leaders and the
group of adolescents.
Visual aids: Youtube informational videos on brushing and flossing
technique, Powerpoint presentation, flip-book for an additional resource
Supplies: Powerpoint lesson plan, flipbooks, typodonts, and goodie bags
filled with toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste.
Evaluation material: post posttest
Supplements: no additional supplements will be provided

D. Budget
The estimated cost of the oral health program is as follows:
Toothbrushes (donated by LIT Dental Hygiene clinic)
Floss (donated by the LIT Dental Hygiene clinic)
Toothpaste (donated by the LIT Dental Hygiene clinic)
Fruit tray-session two (supplied by oral health program students)
Plates and napkins- provided by church

E. Timetable
All of the needed resources will be obtained before each session. There will
be three sessions of education spanning a three week time period. The
schedule is as follows:
Session one (assessment phase): Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Session two (lesson plan 1): Wednesday April 4, 2018
Session three (lesson plan 2): Wednesday April 11, 2018
Session four (lesson plan 3): Wednesday April 18, 2018

Evaluation

Formative:
The adolescents will receive a weekly review of the lessons delivered to assure
mastery of the skills and information. The review format will be a game
questionnaire and prizes will be given for correct answers.

Summative:
The adolescents will complete a post posttest to assess their knowledge from what
our lessons covered.

Part II- Oral Health Program

Pathway Church Youth Group

Dates:
First Session (assessment phase): Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Second Session: Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Third Session: Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Fourth Session: Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Program Design:

First Session:
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 6:30 p.m.

Our first session was done at Pathway Church in Port Neches, on Wednesday
January 31, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. At this session, we gave a pre-test to assess the need
of implementing an oral health program at the church. The assessment evaluated
the adolescents’ knowledge of oral health. The pre-test consisted of questions
regarding age, caries frequency, brushing frequency, flossing frequency, braces,
bleeding gums, and consumption of sugary drinks. After the pre-test, we were able
to conclude that our target group would consist of roughly 45-55 adolescents
ranging in ages from 12-19.

Second Session:
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 6:30 p.m.

Our second session was done at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at
Pathway Church. At this session, we began to implement our oral health program to
the students. We did a PowerPoint presentation and presented supplemental videos
that demonstrated proper toothbrushing and flossing technique. Once the videos
ended, we went back and reiterated the most important techniques to follow when
performing daily oral hygiene care on themselves. We also explained to them what
inflammation is in the oral cavity, such as gingivitis and periodontitis. After this
lesson, we had a discussion with the students about the importance of good oral
hygiene, such as brushing for two minutes twice daily, flossing daily, and regularly
visiting the dentist for a prophy.

Third Session:
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 6:30 p.m.

Our third session was done at Pathway Church on Wednesday, April 11, 2018
at 6:30 p.m. At this session, we did a PowerPoint presentation and showed a
supplemental video over fluoride. This lesson consisted of us teaching the students
about the caries process, pH levels in the oral cavity, and daily use of fluoride to
prevent decay and strengthen enamel. At the end of this lesson, we had a discussion
with the adolescents and also reviewed previous topics from the week before, such
as brushing and flossing). At this session, the church provided the students with a
fruit tray to encourage and educate them about healthy eating habits.

Fourth Session:
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 6:30 p.m.

Our fourth and final session was done on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at
Pathway Church at 6:30 p.m. At this session, we reviewed all prior sessions that
were implemented. We did a quick review with the students over proper
toothbrushing and flossing technique, as well as fluoride and healthy eating habits.
At the end of the lesson, we did a post-posttest as a group with the children to
ensure the knowledge was obtained from the lessons. The students received goodie
bags filled with items to improve their oral health regimen. The goodie bags
consisted of an age appropriate toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, and a disclosing tablet
for the children to practice proper brushing technique on themselves at home.

Program Objectives:
1. To educate our students on the prevention and control of oral diseases, such
as gingivitis and caries. This will increase their knowledge by 50% by the end
of the oral health program.

The goal to increase their knowledge by 50% was met by the end of the oral
health program. The post-posttest was given to evaluate their new knowledge of
oral health.

2. To provide the knowledge and skills in maintaining optimal oral health by

teaching proper toothbrushing and flossing techniques. This will increase
their knowledge by 50% by the end of the oral health program.

The goal to increase the adolescents’ knowledge by 50% was met by the end of
the oral health program. The post-posttest was given to evaluate their new
knowledge of proper toothbrushing and flossing techniques.

3. To incorporate healthy nutritional habits and the daily use of fluoride into
their oral health regimen by the end of the oral health program.

The goal to increase the students’ knowledge was met by the end of the oral
health program. The post-posttest that was given showed that the students
understood what fluoride does and how it works. The test also showed that the
students knew what foods were good for healthy eating habits.
Results:
The goal of our oral health program was to provide the students with a lifelong
understanding and personal acceptance of healthy nutritional habits and the value
of dental care.
The adolescents’ increased their knowledge by 50% by answering the post-posttest.
They were able to properly demonstrate oral health techniques, healthy eating
habits, and daily use of fluoride.

Evaluation:
Strengths:
-Kept lessons short and engaging with videos, to keep the children focused.
-Easy to understand lessons, using videos and PowerPoint presentations to keep
their attention.
-Maintained attention by asking questions throughout the presentation, and stayed
after to answer any other questions the students had.
-Target population was convenient, especially since the students were already at the
church for worship.
-Pastor and youth leaders were very involved and supportive of the oral health
program.
Weaknesses:
-Loss of focus with this age group, since their friends were also with them.
-Loss of interest in learning, since the children had friends and cellphones.
-Group was talkative, considering the age group and technology we have today.
-Lesson plan was altered in order to complete post-posttest. The children were
ready to leave and eat pizza at the end of our final session.

Future site for program:

The site was great for presenting the PowerPoint and supplemental videos. The
church had 4 big screens throughout the sanctuary and had a projection system
available to use for our presentation. The staff was very helpful in providing exactly
what we needed for our oral health program. The staff was also very courteous and
supportive of us coming and implementing an oral health program during their
worship time. The scheduling was appropriate since the students were already their
for worship and small groups.

Learning value and Collaboration:

We learned that when working with adolescents’, we need to be very engaging and
stay patient with a rowdy group of young students. When collaborating with other
classmates for this project, we were able to get different inputs and opinions to
make sure we touched on all topics to be implemented for the oral health program.
We were also able to collaborate with the pastor and youth leaders to keep the
students engaged during the lesson plans.

Appendix:
Post-posttest questions on PowerPoint
Lesson Plan see above at program design

Resources:
(1) http://pathwaylife.org

(2) https://www.cdc.gov

(3) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db191.htm

(4)
http://www.phi.org/uploads/application/files/j87a2s6y0qtk7gs9xz9nd0g8av0d84
l3ndwixegyaw4ock5jpa.pdf

(5) https://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/issues.pdf

(6) City of Port Neches Water Treatment Center (409) 722-4024