Comparing the Efficacy of Mobile Application vs. Educational Pamphlets in Awareness of Dental Trauma among Mothers Referring to Bojnourd Dental School and Private Clinics

Abstract

Introduction: One of the issues that have always occupied the minds of dentists is the fate of teeth that are subjected to traumatic injuries. Parents are the primary source of timely management. Therefore, the final prognosis of an affected tooth mainly depends on the knowledge of parents, especially mothers. The present study aimed to investigate awareness of dental injuries among mothers referring to Bojnourd Dental School and private pediatric dental offices and compare the effect of two educational interventions, pamphlet and application, on dental injury management. Method: A total of 150 mothers were randomly assigned to two groups: pamphlet intervention and application intervention (n=75 in each group). After completing the informed consent forms, the questionnaires were provided to mothers. After collecting the questionnaires, pamphlets and applications with similar content regarding the management of dental injuries were provided to the two groups. One month after the interventions, the same questionnaire was completed by mothers. Therefore, pre-test and post-test results were compared. Results: A total of 146 mothers participated in this study. The mean awareness score in both the pamphlet and application groups increased significantly after the intervention (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in the mean awareness score between the two intervention groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, parents have insufficient information about dental trauma; therefore, practical steps should be taken to raise this awareness. In our study, both pamphlets and applications were equally effective in increasing mothers' awareness of dental injuries. Of note, finding a more efficient method needs further studies