Abstract

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Oral health education plays a critical role in preventive dentistry, equipping students with essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills for maintaining optimal oral hygiene. Secondary school students are particularly susceptible to oral health risks due to lifestyle habits, limited access to dental care, and inadequate health literacy. Early interventions can instill positive lifelong oral health behaviours. A systematically review aimed at the effectiveness of oral health education programs in improving knowledge of oral hygiene among public senior secondary school students in Bichi Local Government Area, Kano State. A systematic appraisal of peer-reviewed studies, including randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and systematic reviews, was conducted. Eligible studies included school-based or community-based oral health education interventions targeting children, adolescents, or university students. Intervention approaches examined included classroom-based education, digital storytelling, augmented reality AR, teledentistry, supervised tooth brushing, parental and teacher involvement, and community water fluoridation. Data were extracted on study design, participants, intervention strategies, and knowledge outcomes. Evidence from multiple contexts—including Nigeria, India, Libya, Senegal, and other low- and middle-income countries—demonstrated significant improvements in students' oral health knowledge post-intervention, with reported mean score increases reaching statistical significance (p < 0.001). Digital storytelling (Adegbulugbe et al., 2023) and augmented reality (Gupta et al., 2021) enhanced knowledge retention, while tele-dentistry (Ogunbodede et al., 2020) effectively reached underserved communities. Systematic reviews (Nakre & Harikiran, 2013; Bramantoro et al., 2021; Gurav et al., 2022) confirmed consistent gains in knowledge and improvements in oral hygiene practices, plaque control, and caries reduction. Interventions integrating audiovisual aids, teacher/parent engagement, and supervised oral hygiene yielded the most sustainable outcomes. Oral health education programmes are effective in improving students' oral hygiene knowledge across diverse settings and delivery formats. The most impactful interventions are multimodal,community-supported, and embedded within school systems. Therefore, it was recommended that Policymakers and educators should prioritize sustained oral health education as part of comprehensive school health programmes, especially in resourcelimited regions.

Keywords: oral health education, knowledge, oral hygiene, students, school-based programme, health promotion.