To compare the effectiveness of oral health talk with practical demonstrations in school children divided in two groups of a selected school. One hundred school children selected by convenience sampling method were divided in two groups based on the type of intervention viz Group A – Oral health talk and practical demonstrations in Group B. The gingival and plaque scores for both Group A and Group B individuals were recorded at baseline, 1 week and 1 month. The results obtained were entered in Microsoft excel worksheet and analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and unpaired t test were applied to compare between the groups. Statistically significant reduction in mean gingival and plaque scores was seen in both groups, but reduction was more in children who received oral health education through practical demonstration than in the children who received oral health talk (p<0.05). Practical demonstrations as a method of health education can have a bigger impact on the oral health practices of the school children and can be an important tool in promoting oral health.
