Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare parents' perception of school oral health projects in elementary schools equipped with and without dental clinics in the city of Hwaseong in an attempt to help ensure the success of ideal school oral health projects. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire method was utilized to gather data from May 1 through June 30, 2007. Out of 54 elementary schools in that region, the four were furnished with dental clinics. The subjects in this study were 5,920 parents. Among them, 3,500 parents were selected from the four elementary schools equipped with dental clinics, and 2,420 parents were selected from another four elementary schools that had no dental clinics. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS Ver. 11.5 program. Results: As for the perception of school dental clinic, the parents from the schools furnished with dental clinics scored better in the three out of four items. One excepted item was about whether they knew that there was a school dental health clinic, and the gap between them and the others was significant. In regard to the necessity of school dental clinic, the parents from the schools with dental clinics scored higher in the three out of four items, and the gap between them and the others were significant. One excepted item was about whether they felt the need for experts in oral health. They expressed satisfaction at school dental clinics, as they gave a mean of 3.68 or higher to every item. The others from the schools without dental clinics hoped the schools to run a dental clinic. Both groups expected a school dental clinic to be conducive to their children's oral health, since they gave a mean of 4.16 to that. Overall, the parents looked at school dental clinics in a very favorable manner, as they gave a mean of 3.88 or higher to the necessity of school dental clinic, its expected effect and satisfaction with it. In terms of awareness, however, the parents from the schools with dental clinics and the others got a mean of 3.09 and 2.81 respectively, which were relatively low scores. There were statistically significant differences between the two in every regard at the 95% level of significance. Conclusion: The above-mentioned findings suggested that the parents viewed school dental clinics favorably in general. Yet the parents from the schools furnished with dental clinics were less aware of the clinics, which justified the necessity of more intensive publicity.