Purpose:
Patient compliance during orthodontic treatment has a significant effect on the aims, outcome, and duration of the treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of reminders on enhancing orthodontic patient compliance.
Patients and methods:
Twenty-six subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances were randomly assigned into two groups: control (Ct) and intervention (In) groups. The oral hygiene parameters of plaque index (PI), bleeding index (BI), and white spot lesion (WSL) with appointment adherence and bracket fracture were recorded at base line (T0), 2 months (T1), 4 months (T2), and 6 months (T3). In group participants received weekly reminders and subjects' compliances were classified into poor, fair, and excellent compliance.
Results:
Statistically significant differences were found in PI level at T2 between Ct and In groups (p-value = 0.006), whereas a non-significant difference was found for BI (p-value>0. 05). There was a statistically significant increase in WSL for the Ct group across the study time points (p-value = 0.03), while no significant change in WSL was detected for the In group (p-value>0.05). The compliance levels of In and Ct groups were excellent and fair, respectively.
Conclusion:
The study suggests that weekly reminders can enhance the oral hygiene status in patients with orthodontic appliances (POA) and elevate the level of compliance to excellent.
Registration number:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05331820.