Evaluating the social impact and effectiveness of four-year "Love Teeth Day" campaign in China.

A massive campaign on "Love Teeth Day" (LTD) has been celebrated nationwide each year in China since 1989. As announced in an official document, nine government and non-government organizations have jointly issued a circular designating that the 20th of September of each year be kept for the Love Teeth Festival in this country. The main activities were planned and conducted by the National Committee for Oral Health, which was set up in 1988. It aims to motivate the people's awareness of dental self-care, participation, and to promote community involvement in oral health education programs. For feedback, two types of questionnaires were designed and sent to the public and the organizers, respectively, after each campaign, and then returned to the office for data processing. The findings from a four-year study indicated that: (1) The activities started from three municipalities, 29 capitals of provinces, and some large cities (1989), and spread to most cities in the urban area, and about 300 counties in the rural area (1992); (2) 14,000 dental professionals and health workers participated in 1989 as information providers, and increased to 40,000 in 1992; (3) oral health knowledge has increased to 76.2% (1992) from 37% (1989); and (4) the people's will in dental prevention was strengthened.