ArticleInternational dental journal2017
Evaluation of the child oral health promotion 'MaliMali' Programme based on schools in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Article in International dental journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Clinical Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Oral-Health Promotion in Dental Caries Prevention among Children: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Pacific oral health: a scoping review.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Review
- Addressing health inequalities: a case study on an oral health promotion program in New Caledonia.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Trends in Access to Oral Health Care among Adults from the N-E Region of Romania.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Article
- A model for implementing oral health-promoting school: Integration with dental students' educational curriculum: A protocol study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2022Article
- Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Primary Preventive Dental Health Education Programme Implemented Through School Teachers for Primary School Children in Mysore City.Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community DentistryArticle
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
introductionThe South Pacific Medical Team (SPMT) has supported oral health care for Tongan juveniles since 1998. This voluntary activity, named the MaliMali ('smile' in Tongan) Programme, is evaluated in detail in this paper.
methodsThis evaluation was guided by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. The objectives were to explore: (i) whether the programme was accessible to Tongan schoolchildren (Reach); (ii) the impact of the programme on decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) scores and toothbrushing habits (Effectiveness); (iii) factors that affected the adoption of the programme (Adoption); (iv) whether implementation was consistent with the programme model (Implementation); and (v) the long-term sustainability of the programme (Maintenance).
resultsThe MaliMali Programme has grown into an international project, has spread countrywide as a uniform health promotion and is reaching children in need. Following implementation of this programme, the oral health of Tongan juveniles has improved, with a decrease in the mean DMFT index and an increase in toothbrushing. To provide training that will allow Tongans to assume responsibility for the MaliMali Programme in the future, dental health education literature was prepared and workshops on oral hygiene and the MaliMali Programme were held frequently. At present, the programme is predominantly managed by Tongan staff, rather than by Japanese staff.
conclusionsThis evaluation found the MaliMali Programme to be feasible and acceptable to children and schools in the Kingdom of Tonga. The programme promotes oral health and provides accessible and improved oral health care in the school setting, consistent with the oral health-promoting school framework.
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