Familiarity and Utilization of Oral Health Education Applications for Orthodontic Patients among Iranian Orthodontists

Dentists often face challenges in maintaining adequate oral hygiene for orthodontic patients. Nowadays, there are many oral health applications available that, along with interactive education and reminders, ultimately lead to better oral hygiene and desired oral health. This study aimed to investigate the level of use of these applications by orthodontic professionals in our country.

Methods & Materials: 

The present study was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study, conducted in 2022. Using a convenient sampling method, 188 orthodontic professionals were recruited from the country, and 101 of them completed the questionnaire with informed and voluntary consent. A questionnaire was designed and validated to determine the familiarity and use of education and reminder health applications by professionals, and the data were collected online. Descriptive statistics were used to report the results, and the relationship between variables was analyzed using the chi-square test at a confidence level of 95%.

Most of the specialists had some difficulty with maintaining the oral hygiene of their patients. According to the present study, in the case of poor oral health of the patient, more than half (53.5%) of them sometimes had to terminate the orthodontic treatment of their patients. However, the results of the study showed that the orthodontists almost never used oral health education and reminder applications. Instagram was recognized as the most commonly used social network by orthodontist.

The results of this study indicate the need for specialists to have an efficient method of educating and reminding orthodontic patients about oral health. Given the lack of awareness and use of available applications by specialists and the absence of a suitable Iranian application, investment in designing or upgrading health reminder applications tailored to the culture and needs of society is recommended.