In 2013, FDI general assembly declared oral health as a fundamental human right and an integrated part ofgeneral health and well-being.Dental caries and periodontal disease are among the most common and important global oral health burdens (caries and periodontaldisease affecting over 90% of the world population), and oral cancer is the eighth most common cancer responsible for 400,000 to 700,000 deaths a year globally.Scientific evidence shows a significant association of oral diseases with systemic diseases or disorders, such as diabetes, cancer, coronary heartdisease, stroke,respiratory diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and many other conditions.

Poor oral health can have a detrimental effect on children’s quality of life, their performance at school and their success in later life. Children who suffer from poor oral health are 12 times more likelyto have restricted activity than those who do not. Prevalenceof caries and periodontal diseases is high and still increasing in some developing countries like Bangladesh; the increase seems to be may be the changing lifestyles and consequence of increasing consumption of sugar-containing snacks and soft drinks due to urbanization, combined with insufficient use of fluoride and inadequate oral hygiene.

With the existing infrastructure manpower facilities, it is difficult to provide curative treatment to such a vast and diverse population as access to facilities becomes a constraint for the majority of the population.Therefore, the curative approach is limited only to a group of people who can afford the expanses and imposes a financial burden on the remaining population. Hence, the preventive and promotional oral health strategies need to be designed for effectively dealing with oral diseases.Though maximum oral and dental diseases are preventable but preventive activity is almost absent in Bangladesh due to shortage of manpower and many otherreasons. Relatively simple, inexpensive measures such as extensive oral health education can largely prevent these conditions and thus reduce the high burden of oral disease. Formany years, schools have been recognized as important settings for healtheducation. Oral health care instruction programs and school healthcare systems were established in the USA in the 1940s and in Japan in the 1960s.School oral health improvement activities have a great impact for the improvement of oral health among the children.Majority of students had an adequate level of knowledge on oral health but low level of oral health practices.Re-enforcement and encouragement to maintain the oral health will be more effective for the long term sustainable oral health.

A “Model project for improvement in oral health care in rural area of Bangladesh”; a Grass Roots Technical Support Project by JICA implemented with Hokkaido University (Japan) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Bangladesh was conducted in the year 2008 to 2011, The objective of this project was to carry out an oral health care instruction program for the primary school children and to train the school teachers as an oral health instructor along with other related activity.More than 100 Bangladeshi and Japanese dentist and students participated in this project. With the view of that project a group of Japanese and Bangladeshi dentist who participated of that project are running “Movement for oral health care” (MOHC) to sustain the previous oral health improvement activity at school.

This project targets the primary school children because schools provide an important setting for promoting the oral health.Health promotion message can be reinforced throughout the most influential stages of children’s life, enabling them to develop lifelong sustainable attitudes and skills. Other than that, spillover effect of school oral hygiene instruction is also beneficial for the other children, their families, school teachers and the community as a whole. Government of Bangladesh don’t have any oral health care program but due to increased economical growth and modified eating habits towards soft food may lead poor oral health that creating detrimental effects on children’s quality of life, their performance at school and their success in later life. School oral health care activity will promote oral health and will minimize the impact of oral diseases on general health and psychosocial development.

• To conduct an effective oral hygiene instruction (OHI) program so that it can enhance knowledge and awareness of oral health care by proper tooth brushing.
• To develop accessible cost-effective oral health education systems for the prevention and control of oral diseases using the common risk factor approach and to develop oral health programs to improve general health.
• To develop an efficient and effective oral health care instruction program by considering the knowledge of understanding for the urban, peri urban and rural school children.
• To carry out an oral health care instruction program for the primary school teacher, to train them as an oral health instructor so that they can re-enforce the oral health activity at school.
• To conduct the research by analyzing the expert opinion and collected data regarding oral hygiene status, oral health behavior to improve school health program.
• To conduct dietary instruction about mouth healthy diets, harmful elements for teeth, gum, along with abnormal oral habits.

• To reduce mortality & morbidity of oral diseases and thereby increase the quality of life; by promoting sustainable, priority-driven, oral health promoting system
• To promote social responsibility and to reduce disparities in oral health between different socio-economic groups
• To build up the co-operation between individuals, the professionals, government, non-governmental organization, the media & to adoption of positive attitudes among the society by involving the community participation.
• To increase the number of schools that are under the movement for oral health care project and to develop a healthy setting for living, learning and working with good oral health.

• Extensive oral health education by using Multimedia projector, pictorial display card, tooth brushing model, live model etc.
• Distribution of free tooth brush, tooth paste, tooth brushing calendar and conducting a tooth brushing session at school and demonstration of its effectiveness by applying disclosing agent.
• Training and motivational discussion with teachers and others related personnel.
• Collection of socio-demographic data along with oral hygiene status and related information.
• Collection of research data

We expect that the school oral health instruction activity by MOHC will be beneficial to school children & their families, school teachers and the community as a whole.
We hope there will be a remarkable difference of oral hygiene condition between MOHC covered school children with non-covered children.

• Children’s daily dental hygiene routine will become healthier due to training and support received from the MOHC.
• Children will develop long-term relationships with qualified dental surgeon of that community as we try to engage the local dental surgeon in our activity.
• By providing timely intervention or prevention of potential dental problems, children will experience less pain which will lead to improved nutrition, behavior and overall educational outcomes.

• Families will receive proper tooth brushing instruction and other necessary information regarding maintenance of oral hygiene via their children.
• Parents will relief from the burden of oral diseases and also will gain security from having a long-term, established relationship with their child’s to dental health care dental provider.
• Parents will gain the knowledge to advocate and negotiate dental care for their child and to make full use of existing social services and family support

• Education received from this project will improve the oral hygiene practice of their own health & their family members.
• Teachers will experience less behavior problems from children with oral and dental diseases
• Teachers will experience increased educational outcomes.

• Incidences of oral and dental diseases will decline due to the provision of preventative care to children and their families
• Students, Teachers & others who will participate in the in the activity of MOHC, will be empowered to become active, responsible citizens and advocates for their community.
• The community will experience a reduction in the rate of general disease due to oral and dental infections.

We have many motivated and well organized working team, able to conducts oral health promotion program even in many constrains and limitations.
The composition of the team may vary and depends on community needs, available resources and local norm and culture.
All members of the working team are appropriately trained and legally allowed to participate in the delivery of oral health care.
Roles and responsibilities of all team members are specified and defined.
We have special working teams that are able to work among the vulnerable or special need children or working in the hard to reach area.