National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries

The National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries is a national initiative launched by the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Ministry of Education in 2017. It targets public and private elementary school students across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The initiative encompasses awareness activities, preventive applications, and therapeutic procedures in the field of dentistry.

The National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries aims to activate the partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and support students' health amidst the high prevalence of dental caries. It also focuses on the positive impact of education and training in helping students adopt healthy behaviors, leveraging the geographical distribution of health centers.

The National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries aims to enhance health awareness among students, equip them with preventive skills to combat dental caries, and engage educational and familial staff in supporting oral and dental health. It also seeks to reduce the prevalence of dental caries and decrease government spending by lowering the rate of dental diseases.

In 2019, the Ministry of Health launched two hundred mobile dental clinics to implement the National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries in schools. The Ministry distributed portable clinics across provinces and governorates to be used by preventive dental teams in schools, commercial markets, recreational areas, and entertainment venues. These clinics are utilized for oral and dental examinations and the application of topical fluoride to help prevent dental caries.

The National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries provides awareness lectures for students, trains them on the proper use of toothbrushes and toothpaste with follow-up by parents, applies topical fluoride, conducts dental examinations for lower elementary grade students, and refers students for permanent dental treatments.

Medical teams examine students and provide them with advice on dental caries, its causes, types, and prevention methods, as well as maintaining oral and dental health. They also offer a practical demonstration of proper toothbrush use, using a model of the jaw and teeth. Additionally, the teams distribute kits to students containing a toothbrush and toothpaste specifically designed for children.

The initiative targets dentists, dental technicians, and health advisors by training and educating them on implementing the initiative. It also focuses on educational staff in schools, as well as students' families.

In 2018, the National Initiative for the Prevention of Dental Caries was implemented in 5,336 schools. A total of 1,084,452 students benefited from awareness activities, while 445,653 male and female students in lower elementary grades underwent dental examinations. Additionally, 732,953 male and female students were trained in the proper use of toothbrushes, and 441,522 male and female students benefited from the application of fluoride.