Madison East

Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

Oral Health Program Part 1

A. General Data

I. Description of site and client population/target group

Lamar Institute of Technology is a technical college located at 855 East Lavaca St.
Beaumont Texas 77705. Our oral health program will be on the 2nd floor of the Multipurpose
Building in Lamar Institute of Technology in room 107. The history of Lamar Institute of
Technology can be traced back to March 1923 when the university was named South Park Junior
College with a faculty of 14. The name was changed in honor of Mirabeau B Lamar (the 2nd
president of the Republic of Texas) in 1932. Lamar is a state funded college with a section called
Lamar Institute of Technology. (5) The president of this Institution is Dr. Lonnie L. Howard.
“He has earned five college degrees: an associate of applied science in welding, an associate of
general studies, a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in educational administration
from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed postdoctoral training at Penn State and
Harvard universities.” (6)
The oral health program will be provided to the child development students. The class we
will be attending has a total of 12 students and one instructor, Gail Williams. The child
development program is not a degree program but a graduate degree plan. Meaning, the students
in this course work do not move on to each semester as a group but complete their required
courses individually to achieve their goal of an Associate Degree in Child Development. The
target population will be the children that the students (our client population) will one day
provide care. The students must be fully educated and competent to take care of all types of
children including differences in economics, race, religions, and ethnic/cultural backgrounds.

II. Description of Staff Population

Gail Williams is the lone instructor and has a Master of Science in Home Economics from
Lamar University, graduated 1989 and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from Lamar
University, graduated in 1986. She teaches the Child Development Program and is in charge of
making sure that the students get a well- rounded education in this course.
III. Description of Services Provided
In the Child Development Course, it does not have a structured lesson plan over oral health.
The students learn information such as nutrition but not proper brushing techniques, flossing,
how caries form, so on. The needs of the education topics were assessed by speaking to their
instructor about what is covered in their material. The instructor informed us of the strong need
to show the importance of milk mouth due to the usual attitude toward the subject. She no longer
wants students to consider it unimportant but wants them to see the outcome of letting a child
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

sleep with a milk bottle. We assessed on our own that the students will also need to have proper
education on the basics of oral health for children.
The program does not cover proper toothbrushing technique, the length of time for brushing,
how often they should brush, flossing, flossing techniques, how caries are developed, how sugar
effects teeth, fun ways to teach children, and the overall understanding that not all parents have
the education or capability to teach their child these important home care topics.

IV. Other Pertinent Data

Mrs. Williams seemed most excited for us to develop a lesson plan over “bottle mouth”. She
looks forward to a visual lesson plan over the importance of proper oral health for children and
reasons why it’s so crucial. She provided us with a poster over “bottle mouth” and asked that we
use in during our presentation with other helpful visualizations and evidence.

B. Information Related to Dental Health

1. Services Provided
Currently, they do not have any sort of Oral Health Program or lesson in place. The students
learn things such as nutrition but not proper brushing techniques, flossing, how caries form, etc.
2. Preventive Measures Utilized
The only preventive measures the students learn is some nutrition and are told not to let children
sleep with a bottle, but they do not go into detail as to why.
3. Supplies Available
Classroom setting for learning and poster about baby bottle caries
4. Description and Results of Previous Dental Programs
This will be the first ever oral health program that will be conducted in the Child Development
Program.
5. Staff’s Knowledge and Awareness of Dental Health
Mrs. Williams is knowledgeable in the fact that letting a child drink milk when they go to sleep
can cause caries, but the students are not taught the exact reason behind it. they do not
understand how important proper oral hygiene is and has a base level knowledge of hygiene
itself.
6. Other Pertinent Data
None.
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

C. Dental Health Status

According to the program director, the students learn about children getting caries due to
drinking milk and juice, in their brief nutrition chapter, but they do not get a more in-depth
knowledge than that. Therefore, they do not get proper instruction in oral hygiene.
1. Dental Caries
“Although dental caries has been declining in permanent teeth for many children since
the 1960s, previous findings showed caries in primary teeth for preschool children increasing
from 24% to 28% between 1988 and 2004. Disparities in caries continue to persist for some race
and ethnic groups in the United States. Prevalence of dental sealants—applied to the tooth
chewing surfaces to help prevent caries—has also varied among sociodemographic groups. (1)
Percent of children aged 5-19 years with untreated dental caries: 18.6% (2011-2014)” (3)

2. Periodontal Disease
“Four basic signs to watch for in children are swelling (puffiness in gums), redness, bad breath,
and recession. (2)
Chronic gingivitis is common in children. It usually causes gum tissue to swell, turn red and
bleed easily. Gingivitis is both preventable and treatable with a regular routine of brushing,
flossing and professional dental care. However, left untreated, it can eventually advance to more
serious forms of periodontal disease. (2)
Aggressive periodontitis can affect young people who are otherwise healthy. Localized
aggressive periodontitis is found in teenagers and young adults and mainly affects the first
molars and incisors. It is characterized by the severe loss of alveolar bone, and ironically,
patients generally form very little dental plaque or calculus. (2)
Generalized aggressive periodontitis may begin around puberty and involve the entire mouth.
It is marked by inflammation of the gums and heavy accumulations of plaque and calculus.
Eventually it can cause the teeth to become loose.” (2)

3. Oral Hygiene
“Percent of children aged 2-17 years with a dental visit in the past year: 84.6% (2016)
(3). The difficult part of dealing with children is that, dependent on what age they are, they do
not have the knowledge nor the dexterity to effectively maintain their oral health. Therefore, they
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

are reliant on parents or caregivers to help them with this task. Resources are available to parent
and care providers to ensure they are giving the best care possible to the children.” (3)
4. Malocclusion- if relevant
Malocclusion is the misalignment of teeth. An example commonly seen in children is
open bite which is caused from thumb sucking or taking a pacifier passed age 3, tongue thrust
and prolonged use of a bottle. This condition can also be hereditary (4).

5. Oral Cancer- if relevant

“Oral cavity cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of
the mouth. Most tumors in the oral cavity are benign (not cancer). Being infected with the human
papillomavirus (HPV) may increase the risk of oral cavity cancer. Signs and symptoms of oral
cavity cancer include a sore that does not heal. Tests that examine the mouth and throat are used
to detect (find) and diagnose oral cavity cancer. The process used to find out if cancer has spread
from the oral cavity to nearby areas or to other parts of the body is called staging. There is no
standard system for staging childhood oral cavity cancer. The results of the tests and procedures
done to diagnose oral cavity cancer are used to help make decisions about treatment.” (7)

Goals and Objectives

The goal for this oral health program is to insure the Child Care and Development class is
educated on oral health topics for the future children they will provide care.
The students will be able to understand, demonstrate, and define the proper time length
and technique used when brushing children’s’ teeth and general care of a child’s oral health. The
first objective is to explain the pretest the students took over “brushing for children”. A pretest
posttest will be given to calculate the overall understanding of the subject. The students should
fully understand this by the end of the lesson within one hour.
The students will be able to explain and demonstrate the proper flossing technique, using
a c-shape, as well as, being able to use and recognize other health care aids to better help
children floss. A pretest and posttest will be given to calculate overall understanding. The
students should fully understand this by the end of the lesson within one hour.
The student will be able to define and recognize caries, by looking at photos, and its
relationship to bottle mouth otherwise known as baby bottle caries. They will be able to define
how caries are formed and the proper preventative measures in order to help keep the child from
developing them. A pretest and posttest will be given to calculate overall understanding. The
students should fully understand this by the end of the lesson within one hour.
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

Objective 1: To increase dental knowledge of the Child Development students by 20%.

Objective 2: To increase dental knowledge of the Child Development students by 20% with pre
and post-test.
Objective 3: To decrease dental plaque and debris of the students and give them the skills to be
able to aid the children they work with this task by 20%
Objective 4: To implement a daily oral hygiene routine for the Child Development students and
the children they will teach.
Objective 5: To incorporate oral hygiene procedures into a skills class with the competency tests
at 15%.

Rationale for Program

With more and more Americans having to put their children into a child care setting, oral
health education is as important in nature with the children’s teachers in order to help the
younger generation understand the importance of oral health. Although dental caries has been
declining in permanent teeth for many children since the 1960s, previous findings showed caries
in primary teeth for preschool children increasing from 24% to 28% between 1988 and 2004. (1)
The oral health program will be implemented to the students of the Child Development
program at LIT. Many children are suffering from periodontal disease and caries due to the lack
of oral health knowledge in our society and our oral health program’s goal is to provide oral
health instructions in an order to obtain adequate knowledge and skills toward an optimum
health. In addition, our health program will focus on alerting non-dental health personnel on the
significance of oral health and various oral diseases seen in children.

Program Design
A. During the first session, we will give a pretest and then teach the material from the pretest the
students took over “brushing for children”. The proper length, times, and technique used for
brushing will be defined. A posttest will be given to calculate the overall understanding of the
subject.
B. During the second session, we will start by reviewing the first session to establish
understanding the we will pretest the students. Once the students complete, we will teach the
students the material on the pretest that they took over flossing for children. The proper flossing
method, using a c-shape to floss will be taught. The students will be motivated by incorporating a
visual aid of flossing by dipping a hand in honey and wiping it off to show the students what is
left over between the fingers. This will simulate what is missed when teeth are not brushed. The
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

students will be educated on the best tools to use for children, such as fun colored floss picks and
flavored floss. A posttest will be provided to calculate the overall understanding of the subject
C. During the third session we will begin by establishing that the students still remember and
understand the information from the previous two sessions and then we will give them the pretest
for this session. We will explain the pretest the students took over “caries and bottle mouth”, also
how cavities are formed and prevented will be defined. Photographic evidence will be
incorporated to explain “bottle mouth “and how sleeping with a milk bottle causes it. A posttest
to calculate the overall understanding of the material will be provided.

Program Design
I. Activities
The oral health program is focused on educating the Child Development students
on how to properly care for their oral cavity and the children they teach. The educational
sessions will consist of teaching basic oral hygiene skills and dental knowledge along
with mental/physical activities. The sessions will be implemented weekly at LIT and will
be as followed:
Session 1: March 25, 2019 (Maximum 1 hour) (Plaque and Brushing)
A. Child Development students
- Explain the importance of the oral health program for students
- Give pretest (basic knowledge assessment)
- Explain the importance of plaque removal to prevent periodontal disease
- Explain the importance of proper brushing technique
- Demonstrate proper brushing technique using puppets
- Address available resources that can be used by the students
- Fun Activity (as a whole to improve cognitive thinking and dexterity)
Session 2: April 1, 2019 (Maximum 1 hour) Flossing
A. Child Development Students
- Discuss other flossing aids (Tufted floss, Floss holder, Interproximal Brush, kids
floss picks)
- Demonstrate and assist patient with floss aids – relating to their physical abilities
- Fun Activity (as a whole to improve cognitive thinking and dexterity)
-Pre/Post test to assess knowledge
Session 3: April 8, 2019 (Maximum 1 hour)
(Nutritional Counseling and Caries Process)
A. Child Development Students
- Discuss nutrition in relation with caries
- Flip book (Caries Process)
-Discuss bottle mouth
- Fun Activity (as a whole to improve cognitive thinking and dexterity)
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

II. Constraints and Alternative Strategies

1. Constraint – There may be a lack of interest on the part of the students due to their lack of
experience with children and their oral hygiene.
Alternative Strategies – Provide visual aids and incorporate images in the presentation to
interest the students.
2. Constraint - There may be a lack of financial resources from the students to be able to
purchase recommended oral health aids
Alternative Strategies – Provide samples for the students to try so they know that oral health
aids are good investments for healthy oral cavity.
3. Constraint – There may be a difficulty with scheduling the session on particular days.
Example: change in schedule due to student requirements.
Alternative Strategies – Plan with program director accordingly to avoid confusion of
schedules.
4. Constraint – There may be confusion as to why the students need to know this information
because they may think it is only the parent’s responsibility.
Alternative Strategies – Explain the importance our oral health has and how children rely on
adults in order to maintain theirs. Use large and vivid visual aids to help the students understand
and to keep their interest.
5. Constraint – The location given to present our presentation does not have enough movement
or activity to recruit participants.
Alternative Strategies – Plan with program director to seek options of a possible location such
as the media room.

III. Resources
-- The following resources will be required for implementation of the programs:
A. Personnel: Program Director, Students
B. Visual aids:
a. Flip book to demonstrate proper brushing and flossing
b. Typodont and toothbrush provided by clinicians
c. Posters and visual aids with caries
d. Dental care pamphlets
e. Power point presentation
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

C. Supplies:
a. Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth rinse, floss, and floss aids (10-15 kits)
b. Cups, disclosing solution, gloves, cotton swabs/tips, paper napkins, gauze,
typodonts, mask, mirrors, tongue depressors, plaque score sheets, pre and post
tests
D. Evaluation Materials
a. Pre-test forms
b. Post-test forms
c. Director evaluation sheets
E. Extras:
a. Dental care pamphlets/brochures
b. Honey/syrup

IV. Budget
-- The estimated total cost of our oral health program will consist of:
 15 Tooth brush - Donated by LIT Dental Hygiene
 15 Toothpaste - Donated by LIT Dental Hygiene
 Floss/Floss aids - Donated by LIT Dental Hygiene
 Typodonts – Provided by Presenters
 Pre/Posttests - Donated by LIT Dental Hygiene
 Puppets for visual education provided by LIT

 Estimated Total: $0.00

V. Timetable
-- This oral hygiene program will last four weeks and the days we plan to implement will
be as followed:
A. Session 1: March 25, 2018 (Plaque and Brushing)
B. Session 2: April 1, 2019 (Flossing)
C. Session 3: April 8, 2019 (bottle mouth and Caries Process)
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

Evaluation
I. Formative Evaluation
a. A weekly consultation with the program director will be made to ensure proper
implementation of the program in meeting the educational needs and also to
address any concerns.
b. A weekly review will be conducted for the students about the information that
was presented during the previous sessions to promote better understanding and
memorization.
c. After each session, a quiz for the students by asking questions to assess if they
understood the presentations.

II. Summative Evaluation

a. A pretest and posttest will be administered to the students to evaluate and
compare their level of dental knowledge in oral health care information.
b. A questionnaire will be given to the administrative of activities to evaluate the
effectiveness of the oral health program.

Pretest/Post Test Brushing Flossing

1. How long should you brush your teeth?

a. 2 minutes
b. 5 minutes
c. 30 seconds
d. 1 minute
2. When should you start cleaning a child’s mouth?
a. As soon as they have teeth
b. When they can do it themselves
c. Before they have teeth
d. None of the above
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

3. True or false: A soft bristled toothbrush is the best choice.

a. True
b. False
4. What is an ideal bushing technique for a child?
a. Bass
b. Stillman’s
c. Fone’s/circular
d. Zent’s
5. A child only needs to brush their teeth one time a day.
a. True
b. False
6. What is plaque made of?
a. Bacteria
b. White Blood Cells
c. Left over sugars from food
d. None of the above

Pretest Post/Posttest Flossing

1. Flossing a child’s teeth will only assist in preventing cavities in adult teeth.
a. True
b. False

2. How often should a child’s teeth be flossed?

a. About once a week
b. One time daily
c. Twice a day
d. 3 times a day

3. Children learn best with black and white informational handouts.

a. True
b. False
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Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

4. What “shape” is used in a proper flossing technique?

a. S-shape
b. C-shape
c. O-shape
d. None of the above

Pretest/Posttest Caries and bottle mouth

1. Excessive sugar intake causes cavities.
a. True
b. False
2. The caries process can be reversed.
a. True
b. False
3. Fluoride does not strengthen enamel.
a. True
b. False
4. Caries in infants and babies are easily preventable.
a. True
b. False
5. Cavities in baby teeth do not affect permanent teeth.
a. True
b. false
 Madison East
Chelsea Glover
Jessica Parkus
Jordan Propps

References
1. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db191.htm

2. https://www.perio.org/consumer/gum-disease-and-children

3. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/dental.htm

4. https://www.nicklauschildrens.org/young-children/malocclusion-of-teeth

5. https://www.lit.edu/about/history-of-lamar-institute-of-technology

6. http://theexaminer.com/stories/news/dr-lonnie-l-howard-named-sole-finalist-lit-
presidential-search

7. https://www.cancer.gov/types/head-and-neck/patient/child/oral-cavity-treatment-pdq

8. https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/baby-bottle-tooth-decay

9. https://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/basics/childrens-oral-
health/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Foralhealth%2
Fchildren_adults%2Fchild.htm