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This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an oral health promotion intervention implemented in special care establishments by dentists trained online. Twenty-six dentists intervening in 27 French special care establishments undertook a standardised oral health promotion intervention, including a conference presentation for care staff and hands-on toothbrushing workshops. Oral hygiene status of the residents was performed at baseline and at 6 months, and were compared using the McNemar test. Mixed logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with an improvement of dental plaque removal. The oral health intervention was completed by 890 residents: 445 children, 373 adults and 72 elderly adults. At baseline, dental plaque was observed for 79.8% of the 797 dentate residents. Among the 691 dentate residents included in the final analysis, dental plaque removal was improved for 34%. Improvement in dental plaque removal was recorded more often for the group of 13 to 20-year-old residents (OR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.15-3.38). The results indicate that this programme failed to significantly improve the dental plaque removal of the residents. More research is needed to understand the limiting factors of such interventions., (© 2018 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: This study aims to evaluate whether an e-learning curriculum was sufficient to impart the necessary knowledge to dentists to allow them to implement an oral health promotion intervention in an institution for persons with disability., Materials and Methods: Participants were asked to complete a 10-module online training course and to implement a standardised intervention in an institution. The outcome measures were as follows: online tracking of progress; multiple choice questionnaires completed at the end of most modules; self-efficacy questionnaire completed before and after online training; completion of training and calibration in the use of a standardised risk assessment form; initiation and full completion of an oral health promotion intervention in an institution; satisfaction of participants with the online training experience; and evaluation of the impact of the intervention by the institution staff., Results: The study sample included 26 dentists. The 10 modules were passed by 24 dentists, and the mean value of the highest overall score recorded in the multiple questionnaires was 88.4% (± 4.0). Twenty participants completed the self-efficacy questionnaire before and after training; the mean values of scores after training were statistically different and higher than those at baseline. Questionnaire regarding satisfaction with the online training experience was completed by 22 participants; all of them stated that they were satisfied with the online training experience., Conclusions: The results indicate that the online training course helped participants to increase self-efficacy and to provide interventions in institutions. This study could have implications for both undergraduate and postgraduate dental education in France., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)