Learn how to be healthy

The project developed by the Portuguese NGO “Mundo a Sorrir” (Smiling World) is a municipality based project to improve the oral health of children in elementary school. It was initiated in 2010 and operates in 115 elementary schools of 15 municipalities of Portugal, covering 8876 children. It seeks to improve the oral health of 6-10 year-old children through the introduction of supervised daily brushing in schools over a two year period, preventive campaigns of awareness on oral health and healthy lifestyles to children, teachers and parents.

Evaluation has demonstrated that on average 70% of children had reduced levels of dental plaque by almost 50% in the first year of the project. The respective results for the second year of the project were similar though somewhat lower (compared to baseline, approximately 60% of children had 45% lower bacterial plaque deposits in their oral cavity).