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Efficacy of a mobile phone application for the improvement of oral hygiene of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment

A randomized controlled clinical trial

Wirksamkeit einer Mobiltelefonanwendung zur Verbesserung der Mundhygiene von Patienten während einer kieferorthopädischen Behandlung mit festsitzenden Apparaturen

Eine randomisierte kontrollierte klinische Studie

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Journal of Orofacial Orthopedics / Fortschritte der Kieferorthopädie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a mobile phone application (app) to improve oral hygiene of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.

Materials and methods

This randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted with a total of 60 patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment in two groups: intervention and control (n = 30 each). A previously designed mobile app (Labkhand) was used by patients in the intervention group. Orthodontic plaque index (OPI) and modified gingival index (MGI) were recorded in the two groups at baseline (first session or T0), and after 1 (T1) and 3 (T2) months. The number of debonded/broken brackets was also recorded, and pain score of the patients was assessed at nine time points. Data were analyzed using the χ2 test, paired t‑test, and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA; α = 0.05).

Results

The two groups demonstrated no significant difference in OPI and MGI at T0 (P > 0.05). OPI and MGI at T1 and T2 were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The number of patients with broken brackets in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P = 0.017). The two groups reported no significant difference in pain score (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

The Labkhand mobile app successfully improved oral hygiene indices of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment, and decreased the frequency of broken brackets after 1 and 3 months of use.

Zusammenfassung

Zielsetzung

Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Wirksamkeit einer Mobiltelefonanwendung (App) zur Verbesserung der Mundhygiene von Patienten zu untersuchen, die sich einer kieferorthopädischen Behandlung mit festsitzenden Apparaturen unterziehen.

Materialien und Methoden

Diese randomisierte, kontrollierte klinische Studie wurde mit insgesamt 60 Patienten mit einer kieferorthopädischen Behandlung mit festsitzenden Apparaturen in zwei Gruppen durchgeführt: Interventions- und Kontrollgruppe (jeweils n = 30). Die Patienten der Interventionsgruppe nutzten eine zuvor entwickelte mobile App (Labkhand). Der kieferorthopädische Plaqueindex (OPI) und der modifizierte Gingivaindex (MGI) wurden in beiden Gruppen zu Beginn (erste Sitzung oder T0) sowie nach einem (T1) und 3 (T2) Monaten erfasst. Außerdem wurde die Anzahl der gelösten Brackets erfasst, und die Schmerzbewertung der Patienten wurde zu neun Zeitpunkten erhoben. Die Daten wurden mit dem χ2-Test, dem t‑Test für gepaarte Stichproben und der Varianzanalyse mit wiederholten Messungen (ANOVA; α = 0,05) ausgewertet.

Ergebnisse

Die beiden Gruppen wiesen keine signifikanten Unterschiede bei OPI und MGI zu T0 auf (p > 0,05). OPI und MGI zu T1 und T2 waren in der Interventionsgruppe signifikant niedriger als in der Kontrollgruppe (p < 0,05). Die Anzahl der Patienten mit gelösten Brackets war in der Interventionsgruppe signifikant geringer als in der Kontrollgruppe (p = 0,017). Die beiden Gruppen wiesen keinen signifikanten Unterschied im Schmerzscore auf (p > 0,05).

Schlussfolgerung

Die mobile Labkhand-App verbesserte erfolgreich die Mundhygieneindizes von Patienten, die sich einer kieferorthopädischen Behandlung mit festsitzenden Apparaturen unterzogen, und verringerte die Häufigkeit gelöster Brackets nach 1 und 3 Monaten der Anwendung.

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Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthodontics, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    Nima Sheikh Davoodi &  Ali Tayebi

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Kasra Rahimipour & Narges Bayat

  3. University of Pacific Arthur Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Mahban Zarei

  4. Periodontology, Dental Caries Prevention Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    Asieh Mozaffari

  5. Community Medicine, Metabolic Disease Research Center, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    Monirsadat Mirzadeh

  6. Dental Research Center, Research Institute of Dental Sciences, School of Dentistry, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Mousavi

Authors
  1. Nima Sheikh Davoodi
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  7. Reza Mousavi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kasra Rahimipour.

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Conflict of interest

N.S. Davoodi, A. Tayebi, K. Rahimipour, M. Zarei, A. Mozaffari, M. Mirzadeh, R. Mousavi and N. Bayat declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants or on human tissue were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1975 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards and the study was approved by the ethics committee of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (Institutional Review Board: IR.QUMS.REC.1397.216). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants or their parents/legal guardians included in the study.

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Davoodi, N.S., Tayebi, A., Rahimipour, K. et al. Efficacy of a mobile phone application for the improvement of oral hygiene of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. J Orofac Orthop (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00056-023-00492-0

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