Objectives There exists a lack of awareness about the role of dietary habits like feeding and related practices, causing early childhood caries (ECC). Children aged <3 years do not receive dental examinations during their visit to primary healthcare centres for routine check-ups. Nurses, as primary healthcare providers, play a pivotal role in providing nutritional knowledge and dietary practices to parents. The study evaluated the effectiveness of educational interventions through visual pedagogy (VP) for nursing graduates regarding dental nutritional knowledge. The aim of the study was to assess nursing graduates’ dental nutritional knowledge at baseline, one week, and one month following a VP intervention, as well as to compare their pre- and post-intervention knowledge levels. Material and Methods This quasi-experimental study was carried out from March 2023 to July 2023 among 60 nursing graduates. The research population received a tailored VP. It was a discussion-based audio-video intervention that addressed the various aspects of oral healthcare for infants and children, such as their breastfeeding, appropriate weaning age, role of liquid medicines in the occurrence of caries, and the first dental visit schedule. A pre-validated survey was completed by participants three times: before the intervention, 1 week after it began, and one month afterward. Their responses were recorded and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version 21.0, developed by International Business Machines (IBM), USA. Results The study group’s mean age was 19 ± 1.10 years. There were 15 men and 39 women among the contestants. Nursing graduates’ comprehension of dental nutrition improved between the baseline and the first week of the VP and between the baseline and the first month. At the pre-intervention stage, the mean knowledge score was 17.8; one week after the intervention, it was 48.1, and one month after the intervention, it was 42.2. When compared to the baseline, the mean knowledge score rose statistically significantly one week and one month following the intervention ( p value <0.01). The VP demonstrated its effectiveness as a teaching tool for nurses and was very successful with the nursing graduates. Conclusion The visual pedagogy (VP) intervention significantly improved nursing graduates’ understanding of dental nutritional knowledge at both 1-week and 1-month post-intervention. VP is an inexpensive, practical, and easily reinforced tool that can enhance nurses’ ability to provide quality oral healthcare. Sustaining these gains and improving children’s oral health requires interprofessional collaboration and ongoing educational reinforcement.
Patil et al. (Fri,) studied this question.