NCT04042389

Oral Hygiene Reminders in Orthodontic Patients

Influence of WhatsApp and Electronic Mail Reminders on Oral Hygiene Compliance of Orthodontic Patients Using Planimetry

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 54 (actual)
• Sponsor: Mahsa University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 15 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Objective: To determine the effect of WhatsApp and Email reminders on oral hygiene compliance of orthodontic patients. Methods: A Randomized, parallel group, double blinded study was conducted on 54 patients undergoing orthodontic treatment at MAHSA University. They were randomized to 3 groups, namely WhatsApp (W) group, Email (E) group and Control (C) group with 18 subjects in each group. Group (W) and Group (E) received oral health messages once a week through WhatsApp and E-mail reminders respectively, while Group (C) did not receive any reminders. Plaque was measured at baseline (T0), after 4 weeks (T1), and after 8 weeks (T2). For each subject, two intraoral photographs were taken after application of plaque disclosing agent; and the area covered by plaque was measured on 12, 13, 43, 22, 23 and 33 teeth by planimetry.

Detailed description

Fifty-four patients undergoing orthodontic treatment were recruited from the dental clinic of MAHSA University between Jan 2018 to April 2018. Voluntary written informed consent was obtained from all the subjects before the start of the study. They were randomly assigned into 3 groups namely WhatsApp (W) group, Email (E) group and Control (C) group with 18 subjects in each group. Oral hygiene messages through WhatsApp and Email were sent once a week for 8 weeks.

Conditions

• Compliance, Treatment

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	WhatsApp reminder	The WhatsApp group received oral health messages once a week for four weeks (totaling 4 messages) as a reminder to practice good oral hygiene The reminder included an image reminding them to maintain their oral hygiene.
BEHAVIORAL	Email reminder	The Email group received oral health messages once a week for four weeks (totaling 4 messages) as a reminder to practice good oral hygiene The reminder included an image reminding them to maintain their oral hygiene.
BEHAVIORAL	Control	No messages sent.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-01-02
• Primary completion: 2018-04-29
• Completion: 2018-07-30
• First posted: 2019-08-01
• Last updated: 2019-08-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Malaysia