Oral health education
‘Health education’ has been defined as ‘any learning activity
which aims to improve individuals’ knowledge, attitudes
and skills relevant to their oral health’. ‘Oral health
promotion’ by contrast has been described as ‘any process
which enables individuals or communities to increase
control over the determinants of their oral health’1. It
should be noted that the phrase ‘dental health education’
was commonly used during the early 1990s; later the term
‘oral health education’ was widely adopted, reflecting a
greater emphasis on the health of the whole mouth. This
gradual shift in terminology is reflected in the article.
Criticisms of dental and oral health education
Reviewing the history of dental health education in 1993,
Towner2 observed some improvements in the way it was
delivered: