Digital Library

A simulation-based framework for planning dental caries prevention programmes

• Maria Hajlasz
• Bozena Mielczarek

(2024). ECMS 2024, 38th Proceedings
Edited by: Daniel Grzonka, Natalia Rylko, Grazyna Suchacka, Vladimir Mityushev, European Council for Modelling and Simulation.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.7148/2024
ISSN: 2522-2422 (ONLINE)
ISSN: 2522-2414 (PRINT)
ISSN: 2522-2430 (CD-ROM)
ISBN: 978-3-937436-84-5
ISBN: 978-3-937436-83-8 (CD) Communications of the ECMS Volume 38, Issue 1, June 2024, Cracow, Poland June 4th – June 7th, 2024

https://doi.org/10.7148/2024-0105

Maria hajlasz, Bozena mielczarek (2024). A simulation-based framework for planning dental caries prevention programmes, ECMS 2024, Proceedings Edited by: Daniel Grzonka, Natalia Rylko, Grazyna Suchacka, Vladimir Mityushev, European Council for Modelling and Simulation. doi:10.7148/2024-0105

Supporting the management of preventive disease programmes is crucial to maintaining public health. Dental caries, a bacterial disease, can be successfully prevented through proper selection and planning of preventive measures adapted to available resources. Particularly useful in planning prevention programmes are simulation methods. The conducting of simulation studies is well documented in the literature. One of the stages involves conceptualizing a model, specifically tailored for a particular system and purpose. Consequently, there are no universal guidelines for its conceptualization. The article proposes a simulation framework for modelling the effectiveness of health programmes to prevent dental caries in school-aged children. Through simulation experiments, it would be possible to study the impact of a specific structure of a prevention programme on the development of dental caries in children, assuming that the programme is in effect throughout several years of primary schooling. The developed framework can be a good starting point for building a simulation model, based on which it would be possible to choose the appropriate programme for the population. This article is part of ongoing research and partially summarizes the stage of conducting simulation research, as previously described in Hajłasz and Mielczarek (2022a, 2022b, 2024).