Background Dental caries is the most common non transmissible chronic disease in childhood and the control of dental biofilm in children is one of the greatest challenges in oral disease prevention. Digital media applications can help patients in improving their oral hygiene performance and reducing the number of appointments due to pain and discomfort reasons. This study aims to investigate the use of an smartphone application (WhatsApp) to deliver oral health education to mother-child pairs, with the ultimate goal of controlling dental biofilm and caries through digital activities focused on oral hygiene. Methods This study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, parallel clinical trial involving 100 pairs of mothers and children (6–12 years old). The mothers and children will be randomly allocated to the control group (n = 50 pairs), who will receive a single visit conventional oral health education, or to the experimental group (n = 50 pairs), who will receive both a single visit conventional oral health education and educational videos through WhatsApp Messenger, twice a week. Before randomization of the groups and after the intervention, pairs will be evaluated regarding to plaque index (VPI), gingival bleeding index (GBI), and number of decayed, missing and filled permanent or primary teeth (DMF-T) modified by the inclusion of active non-cavitated carious lesions (Nyvad criteria). Socioeconomic data, dental history, and oral health literacy will obtained using questionnaires (Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Paediatric Dentistry; BOHLAT-P). Chi-square, Student’s t-test, paired Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Friedman tests will be used with a 5% significance level. Discussion This intervention proposal is designed to motivate behavioral change in mother-child pairs. We hypothesize that adding digital media to traditional oral health programs will provoke improvements in oral hygiene behavior and health outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the effect of educational videos communicated by digital media (WhatsApp) on the oral health of mother-child pairs evaluated by long-term dental examinations. In addition, we will assess the maternal level of comprehension of the provided information via a literacy assessment tool. The clinical trial is registered at the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (No. RBR-7s8bw6m).

The aim of the present in vivo study was to evaluate the bacterial contamination of sports mouthguards, surface roughness, and the efficacy of chlorhexidine gluconate spray in the disinfection of these devices. A randomized, blinded cross-over clinical trial was performed with twenty 9 to 13 years old children who practiced martial arts and participated in all phases of the study. They were instructed to wear mouthguards 3 alternated days a week for 1 hour and, after use, to spray sterile tap water or chlorhexidine 0.12%. The mouthguards were analyzed by MTT assay, Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization, and confocal laser microscopy prior and after use for 2 weeks. Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon and t-Student, and Pearson correlation tests, with 5% significance level. Were observed that mouthguards of the control group were more contaminated with cariogenic microorganisms than those of the chlorhexidine group (p<0.05). The mouthguards use of spray of chlorhexidine reduced significantly the bacteria contamination compared with control group (p = 0.007). The surface roughness of the mouthguards increased significantly after use, irrespective of application of chlorhexidine spray. A moderate correlation (r=0.59) was observed between surface roughness and the cariogenic microorganism’s contamination only for control group. Sports mouthguards had intense microbial contamination and increased surface roughness after its use. The use of chlorhexidine spray was effective for reducing the mouthguards contamination used by children.

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Objective: To evaluate the physical conditions and presence of residues of toothbrushes used by mothers and their babies and mothers' knowledge about toothbrush care. Material and Methods: This was a crosssectional study comprising a convenience sample represented by 60 mother-baby pairs. The mothers answered a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge of toothbrush care. A calibrated dentist performed a visual inspection of the toothbrushes. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: It was found that 82% of the mothers had never received instructions regarding the care of toothbrushes after use (p=0.024). Most of them believed that their toothbrushes (70%) and their children's toothbrushes (88%) were in good condition to use (p=0.043). However, most mother's toothbrushes presented an unacceptable deformity of the bristles (65%) and the presence of residues (60%). In addition, babies' toothbrushes also presented unacceptable deformities of the bristles (52%) and residues (55%). There was an association between the lack of instructions received by the mother and the presence of deformity and residues on the mother's toothbrush bristles (p=0.037 and p=0.003, respectively). Conclusion: Most mothers had never received instructions regarding toothbrush care, which is reflected in the condition of their and their baby's toothbrushes, which presented unacceptable physical conditions concerning deformation and presence of residues.

Background As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing use of smartphones, opportunities for using digital media applications to promote health and favorable behaviors have increased. Digital methods are among those and could be used for communication between physicians and patients including text messages, images, audio, and video calls. This study aimed to investigate the use of the smartphone application (WhatsApp) to deliver oral health education to mother-child pairs, with the ultimate goal of controlling dental biofilm and caries through digital activities focused on oral hygiene. Methods This study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, parallel clinical trial involving 100 pairs of mothers and children (6–12 years old). The mothers and children will be randomly allocated to the control group (n = 50 pairs), who will receive a single visit conventional oral health education, or to the experimental group (n = 50 pairs), who will receive both a single visit conventional oral health education and educational videos through WhatsApp Messenger, twice a week. Before randomization of the groups and after the intervention, pairs will be evaluated regarding to plaque index (VPI), gingival bleeding index (GBI), and number of decayed, missing and filled permanent or primary teeth (DMF-T) modified by the inclusion of active non-cavitated carious lesions (Nyvad criteria). Socioeconomic data, dental history and oral health literacy will obtained using questionnaires (Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Paediatric Dentistry; BOHLAT-P). Chi-square, Student’s t-test, paired Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney, and Wilcoxon’s sign tests were used with a 5% significance level. Discussion This intervention proposal is designed to motivate behavioral change in mother-child pairs. We hypothesize that adding digital media to traditional oral health programs will provoke improvements in oral hygiene behavior and health outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the effect of educational videos communicated by digital media (WhatsApp) on the oral health of mother-child pairs evaluated by long-term dental examinations. In addition, we will assess the maternal level of comprehension of the provided information via a literacy assessment tool. The clinical trial is registered at the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (No. RBR-7s8bw6m).