Preventive program based on multiple intelligences to promote oral health in disabled children from Chiclayo, Peru / Programa preventivo basado en inteligencias múltiples para promover la salud bucal en niños discapacitados de Chiclayo, Perú
To evaluate the result of a preventive program based on multiple intelligences to pro-mote oral health care in children with physical disabilities in Chiclayo - Peru. Materials and
Methods:
A quasi-experimental, quan-titative, prospective and longitudinal study was carried out from the year 2020, to test a preventive intervention based on multiple intelligences (MI), comparing it with an intervention with traditional methodology, whose purpose was in both cases promote preventive oral health care in 167 boys and girls with physical disabilities from four Special Basic Education Centers (CEBES) in Chiclayo. For the pre- and post-test evaluation using a dental record of oral hygiene practices, oral hygiene index and dietary exposure to sugary carbohydrates, the Mann Whitney U test was required, with a confidence level of 95%.
Results:
After not very encouraging findings in the pretest for both groups, significant changes were observed in the posttest in favor of the IM-based program, for which 58% of schoolchildren registered an adequate oral hygiene index, 69.2% brushed twice to three times a day and that only 35.8% present regular exposure to carbohydrates. Statistical significance was evidenced in favor of the MI-based intervention for the three indicated variables (p= 0.000).