Principals’ Perspectives on Joining a Kindergarten Outreach Dental Service: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

In this qualitative study, the researchers explored principals’ perspectives on a free outreach dental service with silver diamine fluoride (SDF) therapy for children in kindergarten. Two researchers recruited kindergarten principals using purposive sampling. They conducted individual semi-structured interviews to collect the principals’ perspectives regarding their adoption of and experience with the service. They manually transcribed the interview verbatim into text and followed a thematic approach for data analysis. The researchers interviewed eight principals. The principals identified the prevalent caries status and importance of oral health promotion for kindergarten children. They acknowledged that the service enhanced dental knowledge, fostered oral hygiene practice and improved children’s oral health. To adopt this service, they needed to ensure adequate capacity to perform the service. They had no concern with staining by SDF because the parents were informed and consented to the SDF therapy. They appreciated the free service provided by a professional team managed by a reputable university. In conclusion, the principals were generally satisfied with the outreach dental service. They realised the necessity of oral health promotion. They found that parents accepted the SDF therapy although the SDF stained their children’s carious teeth. They needed support from their teachers and the children’s parents to run the service.