Assessing Orthodontic Compliance with Tailored vs Generic Reminders

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of daily automated tailored reminders compared to generic ones on the improvement of oral hygiene compliance. A blinded, prospective, randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effects of the content of reminders. Subjects were recruited from patients undergoing orthodontic treatment at the Texas A&M University College of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics and were treated with fixed full appliances in both arches. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a tailored text message group or a generic text message group. There were 68 subjects recruited who were 12 to 17 years of age. Oral hygiene was measured at the beginning of the study and again 8 weeks later. The generic reminder group had significant improvements in oral hygiene compliance from timepoint 1 to timepoint 2. Decreases from T1 to T2 were 1.20 to 0.59, 1.88 to 1.10, and 3.56 to 2.90 for bleeding index (BI), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI), respectively (p<0.001). The tailored reminder group had significant improvements in oral hygiene compliance from timepoint 1 to timepoint 2 as well. Decreases from T1 to T2 were 1.33 to 0.58, 2.02 to 1.12, and 3.75 to 2.81 for bleeding index (BI), gingival index (GI), and plaque index (PI), respectively (p<0.001). All initial values in the tailored group and total decreases for all three periodontal tests were higher than in the generic group but were not statistically significant. Tailored daily reminders are not more effective at improving oral hygiene compliance than generic daily reminders