Impact of Virtual Supervised Tooth Brushing Among Primary School Children in Riyadh, KSA

Overview

Dental caries is one of the most common diseases affecting children in Saudi Arabia despite the availability of free dental services. The combination of the large burden of untreated caries among school children, low uptake of dental services when asymptomatic and the availability of free dental services makes Saudi Arabia a unique setting for school-based dental programs. Despite the availability of free dental services provided through the Ministry of Health, universities' hospitals and health services of the Ministry of Defense, most Saudis visit the dentist only when in pain. As schools are carried out virtually and Saudi Arabia has proved effective IT infrastructure, virtual supervised tooth brushing is a proposed initiative. It is also an opportunity for targeting a large portion of the population with a high level of disease as a quarter of the Saudi population is younger than 15 years.

Background Dental caries is one of the most common diseases that afflict children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and despite the availability of free dental services provided through the Ministry of Health, universities, hospitals and health services of the Ministry of Defense, most Saudis visit the dentist only when they are in pain thus, they reach the health care when they need complex care. Aim The aim is to assess the impact of virtual supervised toothbrushing on dental caries and quality of life among primary school children in Riyadh, KSA. Research Methodology This is a cluster randomized controlled trial comparing virtual supervised tooth brushing program against conventional oral hygiene program (lecture and tooth brushing demonstration). A 1280 children in 20 primary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will be recruited to the trail. Schools are the unit of clustering will be randomly selected and allocated to groups. Clinical assessment for dental caries will be conducted in four points (baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months) by dental hygienist using World Health Organization criteria. Data on socio-demographic behavioral factors and children's quality of life will be collected at baseline and 12 months later through a structured questionnaire. The primary outcome is the change in the number of teeth with untreated dental caries in both primary and permanent teeth over 18 months. The secondary outcomes are the change in the frequency of brushing per day and the impact of oral health on the child's daily life (QoL). Research Significance Schools are carried out virtually and Saudi Arabia has proved effective IT infrastructure, virtual supervised tooth brushing is a proposed initiative. It is also an opportunity for targeting a large portion of the population with a high level of disease as a quarter of the Saudi population is younger than 15 years.