Effectiveness of an App-Based Mobile Intervention for Precision Oral Self-Care in Patients with Periodontitis from Initial Therapy to Re-Evaluation

Abstract

Good oral hygiene is essential to oral health and oral disease prevention. Strengthening the adherence of patients with periodontitis to oral hygiene behaviors (OHBs) is crucial for the success of periodontal treatment. This study aims to investigate the intervention effectiveness of a novel mobile app for precision oral self-care, which was developed to help patients with periodontitis improving their oral hygiene through daily oral self-care. One-hundred and fifty eligible patients were recruited into this study and randomly allocated to the control (n = 75) or intervention group (n = 75), and their oral hygiene status (OHS) and OHBs were recorded at baseline and re-evaluation. The participants in the intervention group were required to perform daily oral self-care using our oral self-care app (OSCA) and the functional preferences and overall likeability of the OSCA were evaluated through a questionnaire survey. In total, 39 patients from the control group and 49 from the intervention group completed clinical examinations at baseline and re-evaluation. The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in OHS improvement between the two groups. However, OHS improvement significantly differed between low-, moderate-, and high-frequency users, with frequency of use being positively correlated to the likeability of the app. Further investigation of the effectiveness of the OSCA intervention revealed that behavioral change in oral hygiene, frequency of OSCA use, and smoking affected OHS improvement. These outcomes indicate that our app-based mobile intervention may be of value for precision oral self-care in patients with periodontitis.