Efficacy of peer mentoring versus dentist- led instruction for knowledge enhancement about oral health: A Clinical Trial

Oral hygiene instructions are routinely provided at schools by health mentors and dentists. Recently, oral hygiene instruction by peers has gained popularity. This study aimed to compare the effect of oral hygiene instruction by dentists and peers on the level of knowledge of twelve-year old children. Materials and Methods: In this interventional randomized clinical trial, four schools were randomly selected. The level of oral health knowledge of students was assessed by a pretest. Oral hygiene instructions were then provided by dentists in control schools and by peer mentors in test schools. Knowledge of students about oral health was evaluated in the two groups immediately and after 1 month post instruction. The mean test scores were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and compared between the groups using two-way and repeated measures ANOVA. Result: Oral hygiene instruction enhanced the overall knowledge of students about oral health immediately and at one month after the instruction compared with baseline in both groups (P<0.05). The overall knowledge score of students in the test group was higher than that of the control group immediately and at 1 month after the instruction (P<0.05). Conclusion:It appears that oral hygiene instruction by peer mentors can effectively increase knowledge acquisition with regard to oral health-related topics. Thus, peer mentoring in health-related topics is recommended as a practical and cost-effective approach. Considering the different pattern of learning in boys, repetition and reinforcement of instruction can promote their knowledge level in long-term.