Impact of mobile application-based oral hygiene education on parental knowledge, attitudes, practices, and oral hygiene of children with congenital heart disease.

Background: Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) face an elevated risk of infective endocarditis (IE), exacerbated by poor oral hygiene due to limited parental awareness. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a mobile application-based oral hygiene education program in improving parental knowledge, attitudes, practices, and children's oral hygiene. Methodology: We prospectively enrolled 100 children aged 2-14 years with CHD and their parents. A validated questionnaire assessed parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices at baseline, and children's oral hygiene was assessed using the Silness and Loe plaque index. Parents received mobile application-based oral hygiene education and weekly telephonic reinforcement. Reassessments were performed after 1 month. Results: Among 93 participants completing follow-up, children had a mean age of 5.9 ± 2.9 years (62% male); parents had a mean age of 33.2 ± 6.3 years (67% male), with 40% from lower-middle socioeconomic backgrounds. At baseline, only 17.2% of parents had adequate knowledge, 15% had a favorable attitude, and 5.4% practiced satisfactory oral hygiene. Post-intervention, these increased to 85%, 89.2%, and 79.5%, respectively (all Conclusions: Children with CHD often exhibit poor oral hygiene, compounded by parental unawareness. A mobile application-based education program, combined with conventional methods and reinforcement, significantly improves parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices and children's oral hygiene. Integrating such interventions into CHD care may reduce IE risk.