Effectiveness of 3D Pop-up Fairytale Books as a Medium of Education to Improve the Basic Knowledge of Dental and Oral Health of Children Aged 4-5 Years

Oral hygiene behavior in Indonesia is very poor so that the incidence of caries and gingivitis remains high. Proper toothbrushing is only found in 2.3%. Lack of proper behavior in dental care indicates that an increase of age-appropriate knowledge regarding oral and dental health is required. Among the oral and dental health education used so far, it was found that over 60% of them did not provide adequate information. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of 3D pop-up fairytale books as a medium of education to improve the basic knowledge of oral and dental health of children aged 4-5 years. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test post-test control group design. The study population in this study involved Kharisma Islamic Kindergarten-Play Group students (treatment group) and An Nur Kindergarten students (control group) aged 4-5 years. The study was conducted for 2 months. Assessment of the deft/dmft index was performed during the first week. Pre-test, education using media (3D Pop-up Fairytale Book/Flipchart), and post-test were performed during the second week. Only a post-test was performed during the next two weeks. According to the results of the paired t-test, the first and second post-tests, and Wilcoxon test on the third post-test, we found that there was a significant difference between treatment using a 3D Pop-up Fairytale Book (p-value 0.05). 3D Popup Fairytale Books are effective as a medium of education to improve the basic knowledge of oral and dental health of children aged 4-5 years