The effect of using a mobile application (“WhiteTeeth”) on improving oral hygiene: A randomized controlled trialShow others and affiliations
2020 (English)In: International Journal of Dental Hygiene, ISSN 1601-5029, E-ISSN 1601-5037, Vol. 18, no 1, p. 73-83Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the WhiteTeeth mobile app, a theory-based mobile health (mHealth) program for promoting oral hygiene in adolescent orthodontic patients.
Methods: In this parallel randomized controlled trial, the data of 132 adolescents were collected during three orthodontic check-ups: at baseline (T0), at 6-week follow-up (T1) and at 12-week follow-up (T2). The intervention group was given access to the WhiteTeeth app in addition to usual care (n = 67). The control group received usual care only (n = 65). The oral hygiene outcomes were the presence and the amount of dental plaque (Al-Anezi and Harradine plaque index), and the total number of sites with gingival bleeding (Bleeding on Marginal Probing Index). Oral health behaviour and its psychosocial factors were measured through a digital questionnaire. We performed linear mixed-model analyses to determine the intervention effects.
Results: At 6-week follow-up, the intervention led to a significant decrease in gingival bleeding (B = −3.74; 95% CI −6.84 to −0.65) and an increase in the use of fluoride mouth rinse (B = 1.93; 95% CI 0.36 to 3.50). At 12-week follow-up, dental plaque accumulation (B = −11.32; 95% CI −20.57 to −2.07) and the number of sites covered with plaque (B = −6.77; 95% CI −11.67 to −1.87) had been reduced significantly more in the intervention group than in the control group.
Conclusions: The results show that adolescents with fixed orthodontic appliances can be helped to improve their oral hygiene when usual care is combined with a mobile app that provides oral health education and automatic coaching. Netherlands Trial Registry Identifier: NTR6206: 20 February 2017.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2020. Vol. 18, no 1, p. 73-83
Keywords [en]
health behaviour, health promotion, mobile applications, oral hygiene index and oral hygiene, telemedicine
National Category
Dentistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-45598DOI: 10.1111/idh.12415ISI: 000481130300001PubMedID: 31291683Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85070262878Local ID: HOA HHJ 2020;HHJÖvrigtISOAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-45598DiVA, id: diva2:1343693
2019-08-192019-08-192020-01-13Bibliographically approved