Sec. 3. Community Health/Research Principles. Ch. 14

A school district contracts with a local dental hygienist to begin a caries prevention program after a national report has indicated that the state had the highest tooth decay rate in the nation based on DMFS (decayed, missing, filled tooth surfaces) indices. The dental hygienist is asked to develop a pit and fissure sealant and fluoride varnish program in all the elementary schools in a rural district for children in grades K-5. This culturally diverse population consists primarily of children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) families. The only prior program in the schools is annual dental education conducted by the school nurses, based on their assessment that the oral hygiene of the school children is poor. The concentration of fluoride in the water is 0.3 parts per million (ppm), and a previous fluoridation campaign was unsuccessful. The DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth) and dft will be measured at the baseline with plans to repeat the measures annually to monitor the effectiveness of the program. 1. Which of the following is the FIRST data collection method needed for this program? A Consult school nurse records B Survey parents' oral health literacy C Test the children's basic oral health knowledge D Conduct sample DMFT and dft indices with the school children

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