The impact of a mobile dental system on a school community. Part III--Teachers and parents response to a mobile dental system at school.

According to the principles of the Primary Health Care Approach, planning and implementation of community health programmes should be carried out with the full participation of the community concerned (WHO, 1978). The introduction of the Mobile Dental System to the school environment is an example of a "Community health care/technology approach" where the programme was determined by the professionals for the community and not by the community for itself. Teachers play an important role in the implementation of oral health care programmes in the school, while parents provide the vital and appropriate context and continuity for the success of such programmes. This paper, therefore, deals with the responses of teachers and parents to an introduction of a mobile dental system at their school. A self-administered mostly open-ended questionnaire was distributed to all teachers in the four schools that participated in preventive programmes and were served by the Mobile Dental System. Based on the results it seems that both the teachers and the parents were apathetic in their commitment to the programme although they were quite willing to participate. Their participation was confined to compliance with instructions or suggestions given by the health professionals. It is clear that under these conditions the potential to sustain the momentum created by the introduction of the MDS is limited. It seems that only if the community is involved in the determination of their preferential needs, planning of the appropriate programme and playing an active role in its implementation, will the programme have a chance of long term success.