ArticlePatient preference and adherence2020
Comparison of Effectiveness of Mobile App versus Conventional Educational Lectures on Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Behavior of High School Students in Saudi Arabia.
Article in Patient preference and adherence, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bridging smiles: AI-driven dental health awareness for the next gen-a systematic review.Frontiers in dental medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Association of oral health awareness and practice of proper oral hygiene measures among Saudi population: a systematic review.BMC oral health · 2023Pooled it
- Exploring mobile applications for oral health promotion: a randomized clinical trial.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of the Brush DJ app in improving oral hygiene among patients with fixed orthodontic appliances: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Mobile Applications for Oral Health Promotion in Adolescents: Efficacy, Challenges and Opportunities-A Comprehensive Review.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- Effectiveness of Mobile Health Applications Compared to Conventional Motivational Interviewing in Improving Toothbrushing Duration and Its Impact on Dental Caries Among 6-12-year-old Children: 12-month Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of clinical pediatric dentistry · 2026Article
- The Impact of Mobile Applications on Improving Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Skills of Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Reviewing Mobile Apps for Teaching Human Anatomy: Search and Quality Evaluation Study.JMIR medical education · 2025Article
- Quality Evaluating Mobile Health Apps for Oral Hygiene Management Using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS): A Systematic Review of Smartphone App Markets.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2025Review
- The Use of Patient-Oriented Mobile Phone Apps in Oral Health: Scoping Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- Behavioral Interventions on Periodontitis Patients to Improve Oral Hygiene: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Effectiveness of Smart Applications of Oral Hygiene Instructions on Periodontal Health Compared to Oral Information: A Prospective Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Evaluation of Oral Hygiene-Related Mobile Apps for Children in Sub-Saharan Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Oral-Hygiene-Related Mobile Apps in the French App Stores: Assessment of Functionality and Quality.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Impact of DMFT, PUFA, DAI, and TDIs on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) Among Foundling, Delinquent, and Mainstream School Children: A Prilimenary Study.Frontiers in public health · 2022Observational
- Impact of mobile application-based oral hygiene education on parental knowledge, attitudes, practices, and oral hygiene of children with congenital heart disease.Annals of pediatric cardiologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of two different oral health education approaches, a mobile application (the Brush DJ app) and conventional educational lectures, on the oral hygiene knowledge and behavior of high school children.
methodsThe research was a cross-sectional study of 271 students from two public schools in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. An eighteen-item questionnaire was used for this purpose. Those who completed the baseline questionnaire were allocated to one of two groups: (1) mobile application and (2) educational lecture. A follow-up survey was later conducted at three months, which repeated eight of the eighteen questions asked in the baseline survey. The change in oral hygiene attitude and behaviors was compared across both groups.
resultsThe Brush DJ app was found to be equally effective compared to educational lectures in changing oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior. Both groups showed significant improvements in almost all aspects of oral health, except for the frequency and duration of tooth brushing in the app group. There was no change in twice daily tooth brushing of app users, and less than 40% reported brushing their teeth for 2 minutes. A statistically significant change, however, was noted among lecture group participants in these two areas of oral hygiene routine. The app was also found to be more difficult in usability than educational lectures (p = 0.037).
conclusionThe Brush DJ app may be a valuable tool to improve oral health knowledge, attitude and behavior. However, the app needs some improvements. The content and features of the app need to be structured in a way that it allows for personalization and is more interactive, practical and user-friendly.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.