The use of mobile phone technology in the promotion of Oral Health.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Investigation into the use of Mobile Phone Technology, specifically text messaging, in the Promotion of Oral Health in Adolescents aged between 12 - 15 years old: A Pilot Randomised Control Trial.
IRAS ID
222895
Contact name
Debbie Reed
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Kent
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 18 days
Research summary
Research Summary
The aim of this study is to investigate whether mobile phone technology, specifically text messaging, can be effective in the promotion of oral health in adolescents.
Developments in technology, such as smart phone technology, have changed individuals and societies. Mobile phone usage has increased globally with over half of the world’s 6.5 billion people now using mobile phone services. Mobile short messaging service (SMS) has high penetration and has developed into a powerful, real-time communication medium (Jhadav et al, 2016).
Patients between the ages of 12 and 15 years will be recruited into this study. These will be existing registered patients in one dental practice. Along with their participant invitation letter, they will be posted a single baseline questionnaire which will assess their attitudes to dental care, such as dental attendance, frequency of attendance, teeth cleaning and diet. This will also include a question about how much they use their mobile phone for text messaging, social media and gaming.
Participants who give assent [consent by those with parental responsibilities] will then be asked to attend clinic for an examination of their dentition. At this point, they will be randomised to intervention (text messages) or control (no text messages) group.
Both groups will have their teeth examined and Plaque, Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT), Gum Bleeding Scores recorded. The intervention group will be sent a text message twice daily for two weeks. The content of the message will be identical each time and will be a reminder to brush their teeth and give other general oral health advice. The control group will be given general oral health advice at this initial examination only.
All participants will be re-examined at clinic after 2 weeks. Their Plaque Score will be measured again. Data will then be statistically analysed by Students T-Test. Results written up for MSc dissertation.
Summary of Results
Background: This research project aimed to investigate the role of mobile phone technology (MPT), especially text messaging, in the promotion of oral health in adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years.
Methodology and Methods: The methodology used to answer the research question was that of a quantitative approach with a true-experimental design involving a pilot randomised controlled trial conducted on adolescents from the Researcher’s dental practice patient base. Fifty-one participants consented to participate out of a potential 106. The participants were then randomly placed into two groups – experimental and control - using a random number generator tool. All the participants were examined at the initial visit using the Simplified Plaque and Simplified Gingival Indices of Ainamo and Bay (1975) to assess their oral health status. The experimental group were then scheduled to receive an intervention of twice daily SMS messages containing oral health advice over a three-week period while the control group received no messages. Both groups were then invited for a follow-up examination to assess the impact of the intervention, or lack of it, on their oral health using the same indices.
Results: The compiled data were analysed using the Statistical Programme for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software. The mean comparison of the PI at baseline between the intervention group and the control group showed statistically significant difference (p = 0.010) and at review after three weeks of intervention showed no statistically significant difference (p = 0.301). The mean GI (BOMP) scores between the intervention group and the control group at baseline and at review after three weeks of intervention showed no statistically significant difference (p = 0.066) and (p = 0.470) respectively.
Conclusions: The oral hygiene of both groups improved after the initial oral hygiene advice given at the baseline examination such that at the follow-up examination there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. Further research over a longer period of intervention with text messaging or lack of it is suggested to see if differences in plaque levels and gingival bleeding develop, between the two groups.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
19/ES/0051
Date of REC Opinion
18 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion