A Digital Intervention to Improve Oral Health Practices
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Oral Health in Hands - Parent Digital Program.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Digital Intervention, Oral Health Behavior Change. Basic parameters: 6 years — 10 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Pakistan
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Oral Health in Hands: A Digital Intervention to Improve Oral Health Practices in Children
Overview
This study evaluates a 16-week parent-focused digital intervention to improve oral health practices in children aged 6-10 through daily reminders, quizzes, challenges, gamification, and behavior tracking, supported by an optional moderated WhatsApp group for peer engagement and motivation.
Detailed description
The intervention includes daily reminders with two brushing cues and one snack tip to reinforce habits. Weekly quizzes with 3-5 questions assess knowledge, while photo/video tasks such as "Show your foam smile" or "Healthy lunchbox challenge" keep engagement high. Gamification features badges for streaks like a 7-day brushing badge or snack swap champion. Parents track brushing, flossing, and snack swaps via a 1-tap tracker, supported by an optional moderated WhatsApp group.
Interventions
- Behavioral Oral Health in Hands - Parent Digital Program
The 16-week parent-focused digital intervention aims to improve oral health practices in children aged 6-10 by empowering parents through structured, engaging, and cost-effective activities. Parents receive daily reminders, including two brushing cues and one snack tip, to reinforce healthy routines. Weekly quizzes with 3-5 questions enhance knowledge retention, while interactive photo or video tasks such as "Show your foam smile" or "Healthy lunchbox challenge" promote family involvement and fu
Primary outcome measures
- Oral health practices [Time frame: 4-months]
- Oral Hygiene [Time frame: 4-months]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- Plaque score [Time frame: 4-months]
- Gingival score [Time frame: 4-months]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Parents or primary caregivers of children aged 6-10 years.
- Child must be free from major systemic illnesses or developmental disabilities that could interfere with oral hygiene practices.
- Parent/caregiver owns a smartphone with access to WhatsApp or similar digital platform.
- Ability to read or understand Urdu or English instructions.
- Willingness to participate for the full 12-week duration and provide informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
- Children with serious medical conditions (e.g., immunodeficiency, congenital anomalies) that may affect oral health.
- Parents or children currently enrolled in another oral health education or digital intervention program.
- Children who have received professional oral health education or structured interventions within the past 4 months.
- Parents/caregivers unwilling or unable to comply with digital reporting and participation requirements.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Double blind
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
Study locations
Pakistan · 4 centers
- White house grammar School — Khanpur
- Baqai Medical complex school — Karachi
- Saleem ullah fahmi memorial school unit 1 — Karachi
- Saleem ullah fahmi school baqai Medical complex gharo, Karachi — Karachi
Publications
- Li X, Xu ZR, Tang N, Ye C, Zhu XL, Zhou T, Zhao ZH. Effect of intervention using a messaging app on compliance and duration of treatment in orthodontic patients. Clin Oral Investig. 2016 Nov;20(8):1849-1859. doi: 10.1007/s00784-015-1662-6. Epub 2015 Dec 2. PMID 26631059
- Lee JA, Choi M, Lee SA, Jiang N. Effective behavioral intervention strategies using mobile health applications for chronic disease management: a systematic review. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2018 Feb 20;18(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s12911-018-0591-0. PMID 29458358
- Machado RA, de Souza NL, Oliveira RM, Martelli Junior H, Bonan PRF. Social media and telemedicine for oral diagnosis and counselling in the COVID-19 era. Oral Oncol. 2020 Jun;105:104685. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2020.104685. Epub 2020 Apr 10. No abstract available. PMID 32291154
- Abduljalil HS, Abuaffan AH. 'Knowledge and practice of mothers in relation to dental health of pre-school children. Adv Genet Eng. 2016;5:1-7. https://doi.org/10.4172/2169-0111.1000153.
- Alqarni AA, Alfaifi HM, Aseeri NA, Gadah T, Togoo RA. Efficacy of a Self-Designed Mobile Application to Improve Child Dental Health Knowledge among Parents. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2018 Sep-Oct;8(5):424-430. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_195_18. Epub 2018 Oct 8. PMID 30430070
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07139561 · BMU-BBC