Relay Ball Game as an Effort to Improve Oral Health Knowledge Among Elementary School Children

Abstract

Background: Oral and dental health is an essential component of overall health. Insufficient knowledge of oral and dental health among elementary school children may increase their risk of developing oral health problems, particularly dental caries. Health education using interactive and enjoyable learning approaches, such as relay ball games, may provide an effective strategy for improving children’s oral health knowledge. Objective: This study aimed to analyze differences in oral and dental health knowledge before and after health education using a relay ball game among fourth-grade students at SDN Kampung Bulak 02, South Tangerang City, in 2026. Methods: This study employed a pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest-posttest approach. The study involved 89 fourth-grade students at SDN Kampung Bulak 02, South Tangerang City, selected using total sampling. Data were collected using a 15-item knowledge questionnaire administered before and after the intervention. The intervention consisted of health education delivered through a relay ball game. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: Before the intervention, 47 students (52.8%) demonstrated good knowledge, while 42 students (47.2%) had poor knowledge. Following the intervention, the number of students with good knowledge increased to 88 (98.9%), while only one student (1.1%) remained in the poor knowledge category. The mean knowledge score increased from 67.79 before the intervention to 92.59 after the intervention. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test yielded a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference in oral and dental health knowledge before and after the intervention. Conclusion: The relay ball game method was effective in improving oral and dental health knowledge among elementary school students