Effectiveness of smart applications of oral hygiene instructions on periodontal health compared to oral information: A prospective study
Open accessAbstract
Nowadays, smartphone applications are widely used in different areas of life, including medical science. The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a smartphone application of oral hygiene instructions (OHI) on periodontal health compared to the traditional chairside OHI. All the participants (n = 39) were divided into two groups: control group and test group. Participants of the control group were given verbal OHI and participants of the test group were asked to use a smartphone application to upkeep their oral habits. The gingival index (GI) and Quigley–Hein Turesky modification index (QHTMI) were used for scoring the plaque accumulation at baseline and after one month of the periodontal treatment. A paired t-test and an independent t-test were performed to compare the mean of GI and QHTMI between intra-group and inter-group, respectively. The paired t-test showed significant differences in GI and QHTMI improvement after one month in both groups. Moreover, the independent t-test showed no significant differences between the two groups. However, the test group showed a lower mean score in GI and QHTMI assessments compared to the control group. Smartphone applications in oral health applications did not exhibit any superiority in periodontal health over the traditional OHI method in the current study.
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Gingival bleeding index was evaluated by probing the sulcus and calculating the index 30 seconds after probing, with all clinical measurements performed by a single assessor.
“The gingival bleeding index was evaluated by probing the sulcus of the teeth and calculating the index 30 seconds after the probing procedure, with all clinical measurements performed by a single assessor to ensure uniformity and consistency.[25]”
From The effect of text message-based health guidelines reinforcement on clinical outcomes following non-surgical periodontal therapy: A randomized clinical trial (2025) · cites this paper as [25]
The Discussion states that this study did not assess the bleeding index (BI), contrary to the claim that it measured BI by probing and scoring after 30 seconds. The Materials and Methods do support the separate point that one examiner assessed all patients, but describe measurements of the gingival index (GI) and plaque index instead. (LLM, conf=0.91)
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- Authors
- Alasmari, D., Alkhalaf, M. S., Alqahtani, S. M., Alqhtani, N. R., Alqahtani, A. S., Gufran, K., & Alotaibi, Y. K.
- Affiliations
- Qassim University (SA)
- Consultant Periodontics, Dental Department Border Guard Center, Riyadh 12211, Saudi Arabia
- Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University (SA)
- Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital (SA)
- Corresponding author
- Gufran, Khalid
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2022-11-09
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 14703
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9689989
- OpenAlex
- W4308866278
- Cited by
- 7
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 1.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
- Qassim University
- Deanship of Scientific Research, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
- Keywords
- mobile application, dental hygiene education, periodontal health, dental plaque, gingival index, oral health education, medication adherence
- MeSH terms
- Dental Care, Humans, Oral Health, Oral Hygiene, Periodontal Index, Prospective Studies
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