Mobile Health Interventions for Oral Hygiene Compliance in Orthodontic Patients
Summary
Mobile health interventions harness smartphones, apps and remote digital tools to support patients undergoing orthodontic treatment in maintaining optimal oral hygiene. Fixed braces and aligners increase the risk of plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation, necessitating enhanced self-care routines. Contemporary approaches combine behaviour-change theory, personalised feedback and digital reminders to improve brushing frequency, plaque control and motivation. Applications often integrate timers, educational videos and progress tracking, while remote monitoring systems employ intra-oral scans and artificial intelligence to deliver active notifications and early alerts. These strategies offer scalable, home-based support that complements in-clinic instruction, enabling timely interventions and reinforcing patient engagement throughout treatment. Evidence to date points to significant reductions in plaque and gingival indices, improved knowledge retention and promising adherence rates, highlighting the global relevance of mHealth solutions in contemporary orthodontic practice.
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Mobile Health Interventions for Oral Hygiene Compliance in Orthodontic Patients publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in mobile health interventions for oral hygiene compliance in orthodontic patients across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
mHealth: Delivery of health services and information via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Health Action Process Approach (HAPA): A psychological framework describing motivation and volition phases in health-behaviour change.
Intervention Mapping: A systematic protocol for designing health-promotion programmes by linking theory, evidence and practical strategies.
Plaque Index: A quantitative measure of dental plaque accumulation on tooth surfaces.
Gingival Index: A clinical metric assessing the severity of gum inflammation.
Artificial Intelligence-Driven Remote Monitoring: Use of AI algorithms to analyse patient-submitted images or scans and provide personalised oral-hygiene feedback.
References
- The impact of technology on patient knowledge acquisition and retention of oral hygiene instructions and associated risks. Informatics in Medicine Unlocked (2023).
- A Mobile App (WhiteTeeth) to Promote Good Oral Health Behavior Among Dutch Adolescents with Fixed Orthodontic Appliances: Intervention Mapping Approach. JMIR mHealth and uHealth (2018).
- Orthodontic patients’ oral hygiene compliance by utilizing a smartphone application (Brush DJ): a randomized clinical trial. BDJ Open (2020).
- Effectiveness of AI‐driven remote monitoring technology in improving oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment. Orthodontics and Craniofacial Research (2023).
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