Preparation and evaluation of a multimedia oral health education software for teenagers.

BACKGROUND: Maintaining good oral and dental hygiene is one of the most crucial components of a healthy lifestyle. Health education is implemented through various techniques, such as lectures, movie screenings, printed materials, etc. This study aimed to develop a multimedia teaching instrument for oral and dental health education and assess its effectiveness in raising teenagers' knowledge and satisfaction. METHODS: the research's sample size included 70 teenagers, who were chosen randomly. The users were given access to the program before and after using the software, and its efficacy was assessed from their perspective using questionnaires. The data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics indices and analytical tests, SPSS version 26. A significance level of 0.05 was considered. RESULTS: The average age and educational grade of software users were 14.49 years and 8.49 years, respectively. Before using the software, 67.76 +/- 19.8% of the questions were answered correctly, while after using the software, 86.85 +/- 10.21% of the questions had an accurate response. Before and after utilizing the program, there was an increase of 22.9 +/- 17.8% in the mean correct response. CONCLUSION: Useful training in the mentioned software, along with multimedia content and easy access of teenagers to the training, will facilitate and increase the speed of health education and reduce the time and cost of subsequent oral and dental health disorders.