scholarly journals The influence of text messaging on oral hygiene effectiveness

2014 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Brent Bowen ◽  
Daniel J. Rinchuse ◽  
Thomas Zullo ◽  
Mark E. DeMaria

ABSTRACT Objective:  To investigate whether text message reminders regarding oral hygiene have an effect on plaque removal in orthodontic patients. Materials and Methods:  In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, 50 orthodontic patients were assigned to either a text message or control group. Patients in the text message group received 12 text messages over the course of 4 weeks and one text message for 8 weeks thereafter. Photos were taken at baseline (T0), at 4 weeks after baseline (T1), and at 12 weeks after baseline (T2). For each subject, photos of eight teeth were taken and then the area of the tooth and amount of plaque were measured using planimetry. Results:  There was a statistically significant difference in plaque coverage between baseline and both T1 and T2 in the text message group as measured using planimetry. This was demonstrated by comparing the average measurements of the control group and the treatment group. Conclusion:  This study demonstrated that the use of automated text message reminders sent from an orthodontic office was effective in improving oral hygiene compliance in orthodontic patients.

2013 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Eppright ◽  
Bhavna Shroff ◽  
Al M. Best ◽  
Elvi Barcoma ◽  
Steven J. Lindauer

ABSTRACTObjective:To determine if text message reminders regarding oral hygiene compliance have an influence on the level of compliance within an orthodontic population.Materials and Methods:In this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial, 42 orthodontic patients were assigned to a text message or control group. Parents of patients assigned to the text message group received a reminder text message one weekday each week. Oral hygiene compliance was measured using bleeding index (BI), modified gingival index (MGI), and plaque index (PI), and visual examination of white spot lesion (WSL) development at baseline (T0), two appointments after baseline (T1), and four appointments after baseline (T2).Results:BI, MGI, and PI scores were significantly lower in the text message group than in the control group at T2.Conclusion:A text message reminder system is effective for improving oral hygiene compliance in orthodontic patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike C. Ross ◽  
Phillip M. Campbell ◽  
Larry P. Tadlock ◽  
Reginald W. Taylor ◽  
Peter H. Buschang

ABSTRACTObjective:To determine whether automated text messages sent daily to adolescent orthodontic patients improves oral hygiene more than weekly reminders.Materials and Methods:A blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effects of automated messages on oral hygiene. Subjects were recruited from patients undergoing orthodontic treatment at the Texas A&M University College of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics. They were being treated with a variety of fixed full appliances in both arches. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a once-a-week text message group or a daily text message group. There were 52 females and 27 males who were 12 to 17 years of age. Oral hygiene was measured at the beginning of the study and again 8.6 ± 0.9 weeks later.Results:The daily reminder group (N = 42) had significantly greater improvements in oral hygiene compliance than the weekly reminder group (N = 37). The daily score decreases were 48%, 21% and 19% for the bleeding index (BI), plaque index (PI), and gingival index (GI), respectively. The weekly score decreases were 27%, 14% and 13% for the BI, PI, and GI. There were no sex differences in hygiene changes during the study. The 42% of patients who completed the survey at the end of the study wanted more frequent messages and reported that messages related to decreasing treatment time were the most effective, while those related to oral hygiene were the least effective.Conclusions:Daily text messages are more effective at improving oral hygiene than weekly text messages.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38
Author(s):  
Erum Behroz Khan ◽  
◽  
Mairah Shah ◽  
S.M. Tariq Rafi ◽  
Sadia Rizwan ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent of improvement in oral hygiene via text message reminder in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. METHODOLOGY: The participants were from 13 to 30 years of age recruited from Department of Orthodontics, Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan. The sample comprised of 70 patients (59 female and 11 male) about to have fixed orthodontic treatment, 35 in text message group and 35 in control group. Patient's plaque index was evaluated at baseline and after 30 days. RESULTS: Text message group had highly significant (P < .05) plaque index score (PostPI) than control group. CONCLUSIONS: Orthodontic patients frequently reminded to brush have better oral hygiene. KEYWORDS: Plaque index, Text message, Oral hygiene, Orthodontics. HOW TO CITE: Khan EB, Shah M, Rafi S.M.T, Rizwan S, Ahmed Z, Fatima S. Oral hygiene maintenance via teledentistry in orthodontic patients: A randomized controlled trial. J Pak Dent Assoc 2021;30(1):34-38.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard M. Lopoo ◽  
Colleen Heflin ◽  
Joseph Boskovski

We report results from a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) run between January 2019 and February 2020 testing behavioral interventions designed to increase the likelihood that SNAP recipients recertify on-time in Hennepin County, the most populous county in Minnesota. Given the different levels of governance and the abundance of qualifying rules and processes that low-income households must negotiate to obtain and retain SNAP food assistance benefits, many households may fail to recertify for SNAP. Administrative burden includes the difficulties created by having to learn deadlines and which forms constitute the proper paperwork necessary to recertify. In our main intervention, we test a three-armed study (n=23,756), comparing the efficacy of the Hennepin County SNAP recertification auto-dialer communication, a behaviorally-informed text message, and a third arm with both the Hennepin county autodialer and our text message, against a control group that did not receive any reminder at the beginning of the recertification month but did receive other standard written communications. Results from this trial show that the autodialer is not an effective reminder. However, the interventions with text messages are effective in improving recertification rates around five percent (p<0.01) over no additional message and around two percentage points (p<0.05) over the Hennepin County autodialer message currently being used. Text messaging appears to be particularly effective for SNAP recipients under the age of 60 with low to moderate levels of education.


Author(s):  
Giulia Foccardi ◽  
Marco Vecchiato ◽  
Daniel Neunhaeuserer ◽  
Michele Mezzaro ◽  
Giulia Quinto ◽  
...  

Although the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is proven, the need to improve patients’ adherence has emerged. There are only a few studies that have investigated the effect of sending text messages after a CR period to stimulate subjects’ ongoing engagement in regular physical activity (PA). A randomized controlled pilot trial was conducted after CR, sending a daily PA text message reminder to an intervention group (IG), which was compared with a usual care control group (CG) during three months of follow-up. Thirty-two subjects were assessed pre- and post-study intervention with GPAQ, submaximal iso-watt exercise testing, a 30 s sit-to-stand test, a bilateral arm curl test, and a final survey on a seven-point Likert scale. A statistically significant difference in the increase of moderate PA time (Δ 244.7 (95% CI 189.1, 300.4) minutes, p < 0.001) and in the reduction of sedentary behavior time (Δ −77.5 (95% CI 104.9, −50.1) minutes, p = 0.004) was shown when the IG was compared with the CG. This was associated with an improvement in heart rate, blood pressure, and patients’ Borg rating on the category ratio scale 10 (CR10) in iso-watt exercise testing (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, only the IG did not show a worsening of the strength parameters in the follow-up leading to a change of the 30 s sit-to-stand test with a difference of +2.2 (95% CI 1.23, 3.17) repetitions compared to CG (p = 0.03). The telemedical intervention has been appreciated by the IG, whose willingness to continue with regular PA emerged to be superior compared to the CG. Text messages are an effective and inexpensive adjuvant after phase 2 CR that improves adherence to regular PA. Further studies are needed to confirm these results in a larger patient population and in the long term.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Seiiedi-Biarag ◽  
Mojgan Mirghafourvand ◽  
Khalil Esmaeilpour ◽  
Shirin Hasanpour

Abstract Background Premature birth can affect maternal mental health. Considering that the mental health disorder in mothers may play a vital role in the growth and development of their children, therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effect of supportive counseling on mental health (primary outcome), mother-child bonding and infant anthropometric indices (secondary outcomes) in mothers of premature infants. Methods This randomized controlled clinical trial was carried out on 66 mothers with hospitalized neonates in the NICU of Alzahra hospital in Tabriz- Iran. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups of intervention (n = 34) and control (n = 32) through a block randomization method. The intervention group received 6 sessions of supportive counseling (45–60 minutes each session) by the researcher, and the control group received routine care. Questionnaires of Goldberg General Health and the postpartum bonding were completed before the intervention (first 72 hours postpartum) and 8 weeks postpartum. Also, the anthropometric index of newborns were measured at the same time. Results There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of socio-demographic characteristics. After the intervention, based on ANCOVA with adjusting the baseline score, mean score of mental health (AMD: -9.8; 95% Confident Interval (95% CI): -12.5 to -7.1; P < 0.001) and postpartum bonding (AMD: -10.0; 95% CI: -0.6 to 13.9; P < 0.001) in the counseling group was significantly lower than those of the control group; however, in terms of weight (P = 0.536), height (P = 0.429) and head circumference (P = 0.129), there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions Supportive counseling may improve mental health and postpartum bonding in mothers of premature infants. Thus, it may be recommendable for health care providers to offer it to mothers. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT): IRCT20120718010324N45. Date of registration: October 29, 2018.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reham Shalaby ◽  
Marianne Hrabok ◽  
Pamela Spurvey ◽  
Rabab M. Abou El-Magd ◽  
Michelle Knox ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Peer support (PS) is emotional, social, and practical help that is provided by non-professionals to assist others in sustaining health behaviours. PS is valued in recovery-oriented models of mental health and is becoming implemented increasingly at the organizational level. Text messaging is a relatively low cost, high impact, and easily scalable program that uses existing technology, is devoid of geographic barriers, and is easily accessible to end users. OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the effect of an innovative peer support system plus supportive text messaging program on the recovery of discharged patients from acute psychiatric care. METHODS This is a prospective, rater-blinded, pilot randomized controlled trial, including 180 patients discharged from acute psychiatric care. Patients were randomized to one of four conditions: treatment as usual (follow-up care), daily supportive text messages, peer-support only, or peer-support plus daily supportive text messages. A standardized self-report measure of recovery (Recovery Assessment Scale; RAS) was completed at baseline, six weeks, three months, and six months. Descriptive analysis, One-Way ANOVA, and repeated measures MANCOVA were deployed to examine the changes in RAS among the study groups and over the follow-up time points. RESULTS Sixty-five patients completed assessments at each time-point. For the overall sample, higher scores were found for the peer-support plus text message condition compared to the text message only and treatment as usual condition on several scales (i.e., Willingness to ask for help and Personal Confidence and Hope) and total score on the RAS. CONCLUSIONS Peer support plus supportive text messaging results in improved recovery compared to other interventions. It is advisable to incorporate the two interventions as a part of routine practice for patients with psychiatric disorders upon their hospital discharge. CLINICALTRIAL The study received ethical approval from the Health Ethics Research Board of the University of Alberta (Ref # Pro00078427) and operational approval from the Alberta Health Services regional health authority. All patients provided written informed consent. The study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov (Trial registration number NCT03404882).


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Nota ◽  
Floriana Bosco ◽  
Shideh Ehsani ◽  
Francesca Giugliano ◽  
Giulia Moreo ◽  
...  

Objective: This pilot study is a prospective controlled clinical trial, designed to evaluate the short-term clinical results (the plaque index) of an educational/motivational program for home oral hygiene, directed to children and adolescents who live in family-homes. Methods: The setting of the project was the province of Milan (Italy), where two family-homes were selected. The study group included 26 children (16 females and 10 males) aged between 7 and 15 years, of Italian nationality, from the family-home communities. The control group included 26 children (15 females and 11 males, aged between 7 and 15 years) of Italian nationality, matched for age and gender distribution with the study group, that were not in a socially disadvantaged condition. Collection of the plaque index (PI) was performed at t0. Then, all basic oral hygiene instructions were given to all children/adolescents and their educators. Education and motivation were repeated in the same way after 4–7 weeks (T1), and after 10–12 weeks (T2). The PI was taken also at T1 and T2. Results: An improvement in the PI was generally found in both groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups over time. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a statistically significant effect of time [F (1, 52) = 90.73, p < 0.001], regardless of the assignment group, in consequence of which the plaque index presented a moderate and significant improvement. Conclusion: The present data confirm the validity of the educational/motivational program to improve oral hygiene in children/adolescents, regardless of the assignment group.


2012 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 605-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Keith ◽  
Daniel J. Rinchuse ◽  
Meghan Kennedy ◽  
Thomas Zullo

ABSTRACT Objectives: To determine whether a text message reduces the severity of patient self-reported levels of pain and anxiety following initial placement of orthodontic appliances. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine orthodontic patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups and matched for age, gender, and bracket type (self-ligating vs conventional). The subjects completed baseline questionnaires to ascertain their levels of pain and anxiety before initiating orthodontic treatment. Following the initial appointment, subjects completed the pain questionnaire and anxiety inventory at the same time daily for 1 week. One group received a structured text message showing concern and reassurance, while the second group served as a control and received no postprocedural communication. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in pain in relation to time between the text message group and the control group as it was demonstrated that demonstrated that compared with the text message group, mean pain intensity increased and selfreported discomfort was longer in the control group. Anxiety was determined to be at its peak the day following initial orthodontic appliance placement and gradually tapered off from that time point. No intergroup difference was noted when analyzing anxiety. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that a text message sent from an orthodontic office following initial appliance placement resulted in a lower level of patient's self-reported pain. Additionally, patient anxiety is at its peak the day following the initial appointment and decreases from that point forward.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-220
Author(s):  
Md Mehedi Hasan ◽  
Samira Rahat Afroze ◽  
Muhammad Abdur Rahim ◽  
Muhammad Abdus Salam

Background: Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) is the predominant surgical procedure for benign prostatic hypertension (BPH) but is not devoid of complications like capsular perforation, drop in Hb%, drop in Na+, residual adenoma; hence endeavors are evolving to combat such complications. A newer technique transurethral enucleation and resection of prostate (TUERP) has been devised to solve these problems. This study was designed to compare the safety and the efficacy of newer technique, TUERP with widely practiced TURP Methods: This randomized controlled trial was done at BSMMU, after getting ethical approval from the ethical review committee of the institute, from January to October, 2009. A total of 60 BPH patients were purposively enrolled in this study, after obtaining informed written consent and they were randomized as control, Group A (30 patients, underwent TURP) and experimental group, Group B (30 patients, underwent TEURP).Results: The mean preoperative Hb% level of Group A was 15.1 gm% (SD ± 0.5) and perioperative Hb% level was 13.04 gm% (SD ± 6.06). There was significant difference (P <0.05). The mean preoperative Hb% of Group B was 15.2 gm% (SD ± 0.5) and perioperative Hb% was 15.2 gm% (SD ± 0.48). There was no difference (P >0.05). The mean preoperative Na + of Group A was 140 mmol/l (SD ± 4.1) and perioperative Na+ was 126 mmol/l (SD ± 6.8). There was significant difference (P<0.01). The mean preoperative Na+ of Group B was 136 mmol/l (SD ± 4) and perioperative Na+ was 136 mmol/l (SD ± 2.70). There was no difference (P >0.05).Conclusion: TUERP eliminates drop in Hb% and Na+which are usual consequences following TURP. Thus TUERP can be advocated in the treatment of BPH as it also allows completeresection down to surgical capsule.Birdem Med J 2017; 7(3): 216-220


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