Aportes desde una Escuela secundaria a una intervención extensionista

Abstract

Good oral health is a key indicator of health, well-being and quality of life. A wide knowledge of what it implies and the acquisition of healthy habits are very important. The outreach project called Juntos por una Vida Saludable (Together for a Healthy Life) was carried out by the Facultad de Odontología (School of Dentistry) of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Córdoba National University) in a high school, and its effects were evaluated. This project was run during the 2016 school year and consisted of oral presentations given by Córdoba National University professors to Jóvenes Argentinos High School students pursuing the natural sciences concentration. Once the outreach project was over, the high school students shared and broadened the knowledge they had acquired, by engaging in oral health promotion activities in an elementary school and doing scientific school research. The high school teachers evaluated the impact of the outreach project using a questionnaire. The students said they had made positive changes in oral health habits and considered the information received useful, particularly that related to oral diseases. The work the Córdoba National University does together with high schools is useful to provide students with further oral health information as well as promoting beneficial changes in preventive attitudes. The Córdoba National University should study the effects of this kind of projects and suggest content recovery activities, making feedback and the enrichment of future projects possible.