Trial reportInternational dental journal2023
Effectiveness of a New App in Improving Oral Hygiene in Orthodontic Patients: A Pilot Study.
Trial report in International dental journal, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bridging smiles: AI-driven dental health awareness for the next gen-a systematic review.Frontiers in dental medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Smartphone-Based Telemonitoring for Better Oral Health With Toothbrushes: 6-Month Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Mobile Applications for Oral Health Promotion in Adolescents: Efficacy, Challenges and Opportunities-A Comprehensive Review.Dentistry journal · 2026Review
- The Impact of Mobile Applications on Improving Oral Hygiene Knowledge and Skills of Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- 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
- Impact of Clear Aligners on Oral Health and Oral Microbiome During Orthodontic Treatment.International dental journal · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this randomised clinical trial was to evaluate the effects of a mobile application (app) on the oral hygiene (OH) of adolescents undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.
methodsEight volunteers (14-19 years old) were randomly allocated to the experimental or control groups. Volunteers in the control group received standard OH (SOH) instructions, whilst volunteers in the experimental group received SHO + OH guidance and motivation through an app tailor-made for this study. Clinical assessments were made using the visible plaque index (VPI) and gingival bleeding index (GBI) at 5 different time points: before orthodontic device installation (T0); at baseline (T1); and 30 (T2), 60 (T3), and 90 (T4) days after randomisation. Significant differences were evaluated using Student t test and multilevel logistic regression analysis.
resultsAlthough no significant difference could be observed, VPI at T1 and T2 were lower for volunteers in the experimental group (33.20 ± 19.29; 32.10 ± 7.72) than for the volunteers in the control group (42.11 ± 8.56; 43.59 ± 34.71). The same was observed for GBI, in which volunteers in the experimental group presented lower GBI at T1 and T2 (12.70 ± 8.10; 13.72 ± 7.39) than volunteers in the control group (27.53 ± 17.89; 20.38 ± 9.95). Good acceptance for using the app was shown by volunteers.
conclusionsThis study shows the potential utility of the mobile app for improving the OH of adolescents.
Indexed as
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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.