How is oral health education conducted in Finnish health centers?

The oral health education (OHE) given in Finnish health centers is mostly implemented by dental assistants and hygienists. However, there is no exact information concerning the distribution of OHE work and the working methods among individual health educators. The aims of this study were to assess 1) the time used for OHE by the dental professionals who bear most of the responsibility for OHE in health centers, and to evaluate 2) the collaboration between OH-educators and the parents of schoolchildren, school personnel and the other health care personnel and 3) the sources of the OHE knowledge and skills of these OH-educators and their methods according to their work load. The data for this…