Digital vs. Parent Modeled Toothbrushing

Conditions

• Plaque Reduction

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

3 Years - 6 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• MoodBrush Digital Application — DEVICE
  MoodBrush is a helpful app that aids in teaching children how to brush their teeth. The application uses bright colors and graphics to show children where to brush their teeth and has a timer for each quadrant to ensure equal brushing time for each portion of the teeth (Appendix I). MoodBrush is free to download has no in app purchases that will be made during study and is compatible with Apple devices. Parents will not need to download app for participation in this study.

Study Details

This prospective randomized controlled trial will aim to evaluate the effectiveness of two methods of delivering oral hygiene instruction to children aged 3 - 6 years: parent-modeled toothbrushing (control) and the MoodBrush digital application (experimental). The primary endpoint is the change in plaque index scores before and after brushing, measured on 12 tooth surfaces using the Silness and Loe Plaque Index. The study rationale is based in the need to identify efficient and engaging strategies to improve pediatric oral hygiene. The expected outcome is that both groups will demonstrate significant reductions in plaque scores, with children using MoodBrush achieving similar, if not greater improvements in plaque index scores. Follow-up includes an immediate post-brushing assessment at the dental visit, with intrarater reliability checks to ensure measurement consistency. Statistical analyses will include paired t-tests to evaluate pre-post changes within groups and two-sample t-tests to compare differences between groups, with significance set at p \< 0.05. A sample size of 112 participants provides 80% power to detect a mean difference of 0.30 in plaque index score reduction.

Key Dates

Start date

Jan 5, 2026

Status verified

Feb 2026

Primary completion

Jun 30, 2027

Completion

Jun 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment

112 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Arms

• Experimental: MoodBrush Digital Application
  Parent and child will be present for the visualization of MoodBrush tooth brushing phone application and participant will brush along with instruction provided by the application for two minutes with visual application instruction of 30 seconds per quadrant. The phone application will be present on a tablet in the dental clinic, the patient does not need to download the phone application on their personal device. New plaque score will be taken and recorded after brushing. For the phone application modeled brushing, parents will not be expected to participate in the brushing intervention portion. Parents will only be required to take the parent survey for this group.
• No Intervention: Parent Modeling
  Parent and child will then brush their teeth together for two minutes with observation by dental team. Parent and child will be provided toothbrush and will be asked to model proper brushing technique for their child as they would instruct at home. A timer will be set for two minutes to aid in brushing instruction. New plaque score of the child will be taken and recorded after brushing In the parent modeled brushing group, parents will be expected to provide brushing instructions along side their child while brushing with them for 2 minutes. No additional data will be collected from their parent. No plaque scores for parent will be recorded. Parents will be required to take parent survey for this group.

Primary Outcome Measure

Plaque Index Score [ Time Frame: Perioperative ]

Locations (1)

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