Rajeshwari, S (2020) Evaluation of a newly created Oral health education mobile application for altering the frequency and duration of tooth brushing in improving Oral hygiene and plaque status of primary school going children: A Randomized controlled trial. Masters thesis, Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai.
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Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Oral health is an essential component of a person’s health. According to World Health Organization (WHO), about 60 percent to 90 percent of children and nearly every adult in the world have Dental caries. The most important risk factors for caries are associated with attitudes and behaviours. Strategies to control Dental caries include effective oral hygiene practices. Children’s manual skills are very poor as well as the motivation to oral hygiene and often parents are forced to take part in the oral hygiene practices. At present days, however, technology is largely used in improving motivation and compliance in health management and in oral health and it might be a point to take into account also for improvement of children engagement and compliance maintenance. Several apps and tools are specifically developed for training and teaching children and often avoiding need to have proper training to approach them. In Dentistry, technologies to educate and motivate in oral health maintenance are broadly available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the newly created Oral health education mobile application for altering the frequency and duration of tooth brushing in improving Oral hygiene and plaque status of primary school going children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty study participants were randomly recruited and allocated into one of the two intervention groups. Details about participant’s Oral hygiene practices which includes frequency, duration and method of brushing were noted and their baseline Simplified Oral hygiene index and Plaque index scores were recorded. Chair-side Oral hygiene instructions were given to the participants in the control group and the mobile application (Nam vaai) along with the Oral hygiene instructions were given to the participants in the study group. The participants were followed up for a period of 21 days and details about their Oral hygiene practices and Simplified Oral hygiene index and Plaque index scores were recorded at the end of 21 days. RESULTS: The study showed that Oral hygiene behaviours such as frequency of brushing, duration of brushing and method of brushing has significantly improved in both study group and the control group but the percentage of participants who changed their Oral hygiene behaviour was higher in study group compared to control group which is statistically significant (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant change in the Simplified Oral hygiene index and Plaque index scores in both groups before and after the intervention and it was statistically significant (P<0.05). Intergroup comparison showed that the reduction in the Simplified Oral hygiene index and Plaque index scores was better in the study group compared to the control group and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). It was also found that the frequency of brushing and duration of brushing were moderately correlated with the Simplified Oral hygiene index and Plaque index and it is statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a statistically significant difference in the effect of time, frequency and duration of brushing on Oral hygiene and plaque status of primary school going children between the study and the control group. Hence, mobile application can be used as a promising tool to motivate an evidence-based oral hygiene practices.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | 241723003 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Mobile application, Oral hygiene, tooth brushing, dental plaque. |
| Subjects: | DENTAL > Public Health Dentistry |
| Depositing User: | Subramani R |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Feb 2021 17:24 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Feb 2021 17:24 |
| URI: | http://repository-tnmgrmu.ac.in/id/eprint/14494 |
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