The Influence of Text Message Reminders on Oral Hygiene Compliance in Orthodontic Patients

Objective: To determine if text message reminders regarding oral hygiene have an effect on maintaining good oral hygiene in orthodontic patients.  Materials and Methods: In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, 34 orthodontic patients were assigned to a text message or control group. Patients in the text message group received 2 reminder text messages each week for 4 weeks and one reminder text message for 8 weeks thereafter. Oral hygiene compliance was measured using bleeding index (BI), modified gingival index (MGI), and plaque index (PI) at baseline (T0), at 4 weeks after baseline (T1), and at 8 weeks after baseline (T2).  Results: Text message group had highly significant lower BI, MGI, and PI scores than control group at T2.  Conclusion: The use of text message reminders sent by the orthodontist was effective for improving oral hygiene compliance in orthodontic patients.