Practical session
DENTAL CARIES
In the intervention group, after coordinating with the teaching staff, the students were taught how to brush properly including the first permanent molars under the supervision of the main researchers (AB, AP) in the school setting in groups of 6–8 children. A free toothbrush with a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste was given to each student. It is noteworthy that all children in both intervention and control groups received varnish fluoride (22,600 ppm) biannually as part of the national fluoride program offered by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME).The examiners were calibrated, and dental caries was measured according to the CAST index [