To Assess the Effectiveness of Lecture Cum Demonstration on Knowledge and Practices Related to Brushing and Flossing Technique of Teeth among School Children

India, a developing country faces many challenges in rendering oral health needs. The majority of Indian population resides in rural areas, of which more than 40% constitute children. These children cannot avail dental facilities due to inaccessibility, financial constraints and stagnation of public dental healthcare services. This entails the health professionals to adopt a more practical approach to achieve primary prevention of oral diseases. Objectives: To assess knowledge and practice related to brushing and flossing teeth before and after lecture cum demonstration in school children. To compare knowledge and practices related to brushing and flossing teeth before and after lecture cum demonstration in school children. To find association between selected demographic variables and posttest knowledge and practice score. Methods and Materials: the study was one group pre test and post test design (quasi experimental research design) population for the study was school children. The sample consist of 30 school children. Inclusion criteria School children of age group of8-12 year. School children who are willing to participate in the study. School children who know the Marathi language. exclusion criteria School children with physical disabilities. School children with oral diseases. In this study sampling technique used was Simple random sampling. Tools were prepared on the basis of objectives of the study. A structured knowledge questionnaire and observational check list was selected to assess the knowledge and practice of school children regarding brushing and flossing technique. The reliability of questionnaire was done by Pearson?s Correlation Coefficient. Results: in pre test knowledge 18 (60%) of the school children had average level of knowledge score, 12 (40%) of school children had good level of knowledge score.12 (40%) of school children had poor level of practice, 13 (43.33%) had average level of practice score and 5 (16.67%) had good level of practice score of children. Post test knowledge 24 (80%) of school children had good level of knowledge score and 6 (20%) of school children had excellent level of knowledge scorepre test (13.2) and post test (19.33) knowledge score among school children was found to be 10.82 which is statistically significant at 0.05% level of significance. In pre test practice score 12 (40%) of school children had poor level of practice, 13 (43.33%) had Average level of practice score and 5 (16.67%) had good level of practice score of children. Maximumpost test practice 3 (10%) of school children had Average level of practice score and 27 (90%) of school children had Good level of knowledge score. pre test (8.73) and post test (13.6) practice score among school children was found to be 10.11 which is statistically significant at 0.05% level of significance.