Abstract
Purpose: To estimate the impact of providing mobile educational messages on prevention of dental caries in group of preschool children. Materials and methods: 100 high caries risk children aged between 3 and 5 years from both genders were randomly allocated into two groups (n=50) regarding to receiving educational messages: test group; included children whose parents received educational messages and control group; included children whose parents didn’t receive any messages. Every 14 days the test group received educational messages via Whats Application Messenger (WhatsApp). Visible plaque index (VPI), the decayed, missed, filled (dmf) and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) indices were measured at the start of the study, 3-, 6- and 9-month follow-ups, whereas Health Literacy levels and dietary habits were determined by HEALS literacy questionnaire at the start of the study and 9-month follow-up. Results: Educational messages increased parental HEALS scores, enhancing children’s oral health and reducing the severity of dental caries. Conclusion: Mobile educational messages provided through WhatsApp were efficient in reducing dental caries among preschool children and enhancing health literacy of the parents.
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