Mobile Application Push Notification in Improving Oral Hygiene Behaviour in Adolescent Orthodontic Patients

NCT07288853 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: IMGS25-003-0003
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 78
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This research looks at whether using a mobile phone app that sends push-notification reminders can help adolescent orthodontic patients keep their teeth and gums cleaner during treatment. When teenagers wear braces, it's easy for food and plaque to get stuck around brackets and wires, which can lead to gingivitis and white spot lesions if oral hygiene isn't maintained. Traditional reminders from dentists often fade over time, so this study tests a more consistent, digital approach. The app sends daily notifications reminding users to brush and care for their teeth. The study will compare three groups: App with push-notification reminders, App without reminders, and Control group with normal instructions only. Researchers will measure changes in plaque and gum health and use a questionnaire to see if the reminders also improve patients' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about oral hygiene. In simple terms, the project tests if short smartphone reminders can make orthodontic patients more consistent, informed, and motivated in caring for their teeth.

Conditions

Dental Plaque and Gingivitis; Oral Hygiene Reinforcement During Fixed Orthodontic Treatment

Keywords

push notification; oral hygiene reinforcement; fixed orthodontic treament; orthodontic plaque index (OPI); gingival index

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Gingival health

  Assess Gingival Index using the scale below: 0 Normal gingiva: pink, firm, no inflammation, no bleeding. 1. Mild inflammation: slight color change, slight edema, no bleeding on probing. 2. Moderate inflammation: redness, edema, glazing, bleeding on probing. 3. Severe inflammation: marked redness, edema, ulceration, spontaneous bleeding. 8 teeth (4 on each arch) will be assessed on all patients. The points are accumulated to assess the gingival condition.

  6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks

• Plaque amount

  Orthodontic Plaque Index will be assessed using the following: 0 No visible plaque. 1. Thin film of plaque detected only by running a probe/explorer. 2. Visible plaque covering less than one-third of the bracket area. 3. Heavy plaque accumulation covering more than one-third of the area (thick, clearly visible deposits). patient's will be asked to chew on a disclosing tablet first, and 4 points will be assessed for each tooth: * Gingival area (margin) * Mesial area * Distal area * Occlusal/incisal area 8 teeth will be assessed (4 each arch). The score is accumulated to assess plaque amount.

  6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Oral Hygiene and Interdental Cleaning

  baseline and 24 weeks

Study Arms (3)

Ezgigi with push notification

EXPERIMENTAL

Using mobile app EzGigi WITH DAILY PUSH NOTIFICATION to explain post bond up instructions and advice to watch daily videos posted on oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice

Behavioral: Ezgigi with push notification

Ezgigi

EXPERIMENTAL

Using mobile app EzGigi to explain post bond up instructions and advice to watch daily videos posted on oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice

Behavioral: EzGigi

conventional chairside post bond up instruction

NO INTERVENTION

Standard chairside post bond up instructions and advice on oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice

Interventions

Ezgigi with push notification BEHAVIORAL

Using mobile app EzGigi WITH DAILY PUSH NOTIFICATION to explain post bond up instructions and advice to watch daily videos posted on oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice

Ezgigi with push notification

EzGigi BEHAVIORAL

Using mobile app EzGigi to explain post bond up instructions and advice to watch daily videos posted on oral hygiene instructions and dietary advice

Ezgigi

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 12-18 years
• Suitable for upper and lower arch fixed appliance treatment
• Good oral hygiene
• Able to understand Bahasa Malaysia and/or English
• Possess a personal or parental smartphone with app access

You may not qualify if:

• Medically compromised or syndromic patients
• Need to skip bracket bonding
• On antibiotics
• Undergoing periodontal therapy
• Already using another dental reminder or behavior-change app
• Patients with cognitive or developmental limitations preventing app use

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kumeran A/L Mohan: lead
• International Islamic University Malaysia: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Kulliyyah of Dentistry, International Islamic University Malaysia

Kuantan, Pahang, 25100, Malaysia

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dental Plaque; Gingivitis

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dental Deposits; Tooth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Infections; Gingival Diseases; Periodontal Diseases; Mouth Diseases

Central Study Contacts

Kumeran Mohan (Dr), Master of Orthodontics

CONTACT

+60164478057; kumeran@iium.edu.my

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Asst Prof Dr

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 24, 2025
• First Posted: December 17, 2025
• Study Start: March 26, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027
• Last Updated: April 1, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

MY (1)