SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Promotion for School Adolescents in Pakistan

NCT07536958 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: SEHAT-CRT-2026
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this cluster-randomized trial is to learn if the SEHAT program works to improve oral health among school adolescents in Pakistan. It will also assess how the program affects oral health behaviors and knowledge. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. 1.Does the SEHAT program improve toothbrushing behavior and oral hygiene?
2. 2.Does the SEHAT program reduce plaque and gingival scores among adolescents?
3. 3.Does the program improve oral health knowledge and awareness?
4. 4.Take part in either the virtual SEHAT session or conventional in-person oral health education, or receive no intervention (control)
5. 5.Watch structured 30-minute sessions delivered via Zoom (virtual group) or classroom instruction (conventional group)
6. 6.Participate in follow-up assessments to measure plaque, gingival indices, and oral health knowledge and behaviors.

Conditions

Oral Health Behavior Change

Keywords

Oral Hygiene; Oral Health Education; Adolescents; Plaque Score; Gingival Index; Oral Health Promotion; Digital Health; Distant Education; Telehealth

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Silness-Löe Plaque Index

  The index assigns a score from 0 to 3 based on the amount of plaque present on four surfaces of a tooth. 0 = No plaque in the gingival area. 3 = Abundance of plaque along the gingival margin. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome (greater accumulation of dental plaque).

  Baseline and follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months

Study Arms (3)

Virtual SEHAT Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

A structured oral health promotion session delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors.

Behavioral: SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education

Conventional Oral Health Education

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Face-to-face classroom-based oral health education session using standardized content.

Behavioral: Conventional Oral Health Education

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants receive no intervention during study period. Intervention: Leave blank

Interventions

Conventional Oral Health Education BEHAVIORAL

Face-to-face classroom-based oral health education using standardized content.

Conventional Oral Health Education

SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education BEHAVIORAL

A structured oral health promotion program delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors.

Virtual SEHAT Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years - 15 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• For the Schools/grades:
• Public high schools situated in the urban and rural areas of the Rawalpindi city, Punjab, Pakistan to account for the regional variations.
• Single-gender schools housing classes 6th to 10th.
• A minimum total enrollment of 300 - 500 students
• A minimum of 30 students per section in the targeted grades (6th, 7th, and 8th).
• The schools that sign an agreement to
• Participate in the trial
• Be randomized to any of the study arms
• Assign the trial related tasks to the teachers. For study participants.
• Currently enrolled students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
• Diverse socioeconomic backgrounds
• Students with parental and personal informed consent to participate in the trial

You may not qualify if:

• Students currently undergoing active orthodontic treatment.
• Students with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent the use of digital interfaces.
• Students with systemic medical conditions that manifest as oral health complications.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Shifa College of Dentistry: lead

Study Sites (1)

Public Schools, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Rawalpindi, 34178, Pakistan

Location

Study Officials

• Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PhD (Candidate)

  Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer e Millat University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PhD (Candidate)

CONTACT

92 321 6127576; sadia.scd@stmu.edu.pk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor, Department of Periodontology

Model Details: This is a cluster randomized, parallel-assignment trial in which school grades (clusters) are randomly assigned to one of three groups: the virtual SEHAT intervention, conventional in-person oral health education, or a control group receiving no intervention. Each cluster receives only the assigned intervention, and outcomes will be compared between groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions on oral health behaviors, knowledge, attitude and clinical measures such as plaque and gingival indices.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 11, 2026
• First Posted: April 17, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Last Updated: April 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

PA (1)