A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Educational Intervention to Promote Oral and Dental Health of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Diabetes is the most prevalent disease resulted from metabolic disorders. This study aimed to investigate the effect of training based on health belief model (HBM) on oral hygiene-related behaviors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This study was conducted as an educational randomized controlled trial (single blind) on 120 patients with type 2 diabetes referring to a diabetes clinic selected through systematic sampling, who were assigned to two groups of control (N=60) and intervention (N=60). The data collection tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire based on HBM which was completed by both groups before the intervention. Then, the intervention group received 4 sessions of educational program based on HBM in one month, and the same questionnaire was completed again after 3 months and the data were analyzed through SPSS version 20 software with inferential statistics, t-test, paired t-tests, Chi square, Mann-Whitney test, and Wilcoxon test analysis. Results: Three months after the intervention, awareness of the patients and perceived susceptibility, benefits, self-efficacy, internal cue to action, and performance in oral and dental hygiene-related behaviors had a significant increase in the intervention group (p<0.05). So that the performance of oral and dental hygiene in the intervention group increased from 2.16 ± 0.71 to 3.25 ± 0.49 (p=0.001) after the education. Conclusion: Our results suggest that training patients with diabetes based on HBM as well as through active follow-up can enhance their skills in oral and dental hygiene-related behaviors. Controlling, monitoring and follow-up during the program are also recommended.