As a Public Health Practicum Intern with the South of Seoul Public Health Program, I had the opportunity to educate multi-lingual grade school students at an international school, DA-NA SI, on the importance of proper dental hygiene practices. Dental health education plays a vital role in promoting lifelong oral health. SOS Public Health hopes to collaborate with more schools to provide this type of in-person curriculum in the future.
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The Value of Multi-lingual Public Health Resources
Countries such as South Korea need multi-lingual public health information for foreign populations to ensure that everyone has access to accurate and relevant information, regardless of their language or cultural background. This is important because people may not understand or trust information not presented in their native language, and they may also have different cultural beliefs and practices that affect their health.
Access to language-appropriate information can help to improve health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as refugees, immigrants, and linguistic minorities. It can also help to build trust and cooperation between communities and healthcare providers, which is essential for effective public health interventions. Therefore, South of Seoul created Public Health resources focused on developing multi-lingual resources for various ages.
Recommended Use of Dental Health Lesson Plan
South of Seoul created the following multi-lingual Dental Health education plan for free use by the general public. Community leaders and organizations who may find the following information useful may include:
- Schools and Academies
- Individual ESL/EFL Teachers
- Home School Communities
- Families
Organizations wishing to create similar programs on varying public health topics can contact Lisa Peck at sos.sec@southofseoul.net.
About DA-NA Scuola Internazionale (DA-NA SI)
The following multi-lingual Public Health lesson was Beta Tested at DA-NA Scuola Internazionale (DA-NA SI). DA-NA SI is an international school located in Yongin, South Korea. According to their website, “DA-NA S.I.’s education and curriculum is based on the educational philosophy of the Italian ‘Reggio Emilia’ Approach.” DANA-SI uses an all-English, Canadian curriculum designed for students from ages 4 to 18. To learn more, visit DA-NA SI’s official website and Instagram page.
Purpose of the Dental Hygiene Lesson Plan
Our dental health lesson plan aimed to empower multi-lingual school-aged children with the knowledge and skills needed to maintain proper oral hygiene. Designed to be interactive and engaging, the lesson plan featured activities that reinforced key concepts such as the benefits of fluoride toothpaste, the correct techniques for toothbrushing and flossing, and more.
Dental Hygiene Lesson Plan
We designed a comprehensive lesson plan which included a presentation and student activities. You can download a pdf version of the Dental Hygiene Lesson Plan below.
Dental Hygiene Teaching Experience
We divided the DANA SI students into three groups for 50-minute sessions each to accommodate the students’ and teachers’ class schedules.
- Session 1: Grades 1 and 3
- Session 2: Grades 2, 5, and 6
- Session 3: Kindergarten
Dental Hygiene Lesson Materials
Materials for this lesson plan included:
- Dragon Dental Plushie
- Large Mouth Models [instructions on how to make the models at 0:00 – 0:42 seconds in the linked video]
- White Yarn for floss
- Toothbrushes
- Dental Hygiene Care Kits [see Dental Hygiene Care Kits section below for the contents of the kit]
Warm-Up/Discussion
Each session began with a warm-up Q&A to gauge each class’s prior knowledge of oral health.
Some example discussion questions included:
- What color is your toothbrush?
- How often do you brush your teeth every day?
- How often do you floss each day?
- What times of day do you brush your teeth?
- What do you think is the best way to brush your teeth?
The students were eager to answer questions and share their dental hygiene experiences.
Dental Hygiene Guided Practice
After the warm-up, we demonstrated toothbrushing and flossing techniques through guided practice with the help of Chewy the Dragon.
As Chewy the Dragon modeled toothbrushing and flossing techniques, students imitated the motions using their “air toothbrushes” and “air floss.” Then, a couple of students were selected to reaffirm their understanding by showing the class how to brush Chewy’s teeth.
Chewy the Dragon was a hit among the students. Although students were highly amused by Chewy’s anatomical lack of a tongue, they loved interacting with the stuffed animal to show their dental hygiene skills.
Independent Practice
Following the guided practice, the students participated in a more hands-on activity. We divided students into groups of 4 or 5. Then, we provided each group with large mouth models made out of construction paper and plastic bottles.
The students applied Play-Doh to the ‘teeth’ on the model to act as dental plaque and food. Each group was given toothbrushes and yarn (to represent floss) to apply the skills they learned from the initial guided practice.
Wrap-up and Review
Once the students completed their independent practice on the mouth models, we regrouped to review the lesson as a class. The students eagerly raised their hands to recount each step of toothbrushing. A couple of students were selected to come up to the front to demonstrate what they had learned.
Dental Hygiene Care Kits
After each dental hygiene session, we distributed dental hygiene care kits to the students. Each dental care kit included:
- a toothbrush
- toothpaste
- dental flossers
- custom dental-themed stickers
- a toothbrushing checklist
- two dental health zines: one for children and one for parents (see below for more details)
The University of Utah Asia Campus Undergraduate Research Opportunity Grants (UROG) graciously funded the construction of 300 dental health care kits. In addition to the kits distributed at DANA SI, the remaining kits were distributed, with the help of South of Seoul volunteers, Harry Woods, Chad Card, and Brian Rich, to three other schools: SLP Academy, Humphreys West Elementary School, and Humphreys High School.
Dental Health Zine for Children
What is a Zine? There is a range of definitions for zines. One commonly accepted description from The Bindery states, “A zine is a self-published, non-commercial print-work that is typically produced in small, limited batches.” Essentially, a zine is a mini foldable magazine.
The first zine created for the students’ dental health care kits titled “I Can Brush My Teeth,” is a step-by-step tutorial on proper toothbrushing techniques.
Because the population we worked with included both International and Korean students and parents, English and Korean instructions were included in the zines.
You can view and download the children’s dental health zine below.
Printing PDF of Zine
- Set printing size to “Fit to Page”
- Trim white edges before folding
- Follow the folding instructions for an 8-panel zine
Dental Health Zine for Parents
The second zine, titled “Dental Health Notes for Parents,” aims at conveying child dental health information to parents. Such information includes different types of toothbrushes and some definitions of common oral health terms.
The parent dental health zines were also written in English and Korean for accessibility to both our Korean and multinational communities.
You can view and download the parents’ zine below.
Printing PDF of Zine
- Set printing size to “Fit to Page”
- Trim white edges before folding
- Follow the folding instructions for an 8-panel zine
Children’s Toothbrushing Chart
We included a toothbrushing chart for students to use at home as a checklist to promote brushing twice daily. You can print and laminate the chart for repeated use. A dry-erase or wet-erase board marker works great on a laminated card.
You can view and download the toothbrushing chart below.
Results of the Dental Hygiene Lesson
During each Dental Hygiene Lesson implemented at DANA SI, we conducted a brief oral questionnaire about general dental hygiene knowledge.
When asked how often students brushed their teeth daily, 80% of students reported brushing their teeth twice a day, 15% reported brushing 3 times daily, and 5% reported brushing once a day.
When asked what methods students use to brush their teeth, 60% reported that they use circular, up/down, and side-to-side motions, 33% reported only using up/down and side-to-side motions, and 7% reported only circular motions.
The students demonstrated a high level of dental hygiene knowledge. Many had a solid understanding of basic oral care principles and the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene. However, as expected, the youngest students (those in kindergarten, first, and second grade) had some gaps in their knowledge. For example, some students did not know to use varying brushing motions, the length of time to brush their teeth, etc. We focused on filling in these gaps and helping students establish strong toothbrushing techniques all while emphasizing the crucial role of oral health in overall well-being.
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Zahra Alsafi is pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Incheon, South Korea. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Michigan.
Ms. Alsafi was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, USA to Iraqi refugee parents. Inspired by her community and international experiences, she hopes to pursue public health dentistry with a focus on preventative care for immigrant and refugee populations. She is particularly interested in disseminating educational information through accessible formats.
Ms. Alsafi’s public health practicum with South of Seoul Public Health will focus on dental health education for school-aged children and adults in South Korea.
