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EPES

Electronic-based Personalized Dental Education for Caries Prevention (EPES)

Electronic-based Personalized Dental Education for Caries Prevention (EPES)

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an electronic-based personalised education approach for caries prevention in lower socioeconomic groups – who are known to have a greater burden of dental caries than higher socioeconomic groups – by conducting an evaluator-blind randomised controlled study in Cork.

The caries risk profile of the study participants was assessed at baseline and after 6 months using a software programme specifically developed for caries risk assessment (Cariogram). Over 24 weeks, weekly personalised educational text messages on caries prevention were sent to the Test group while the Control group received non-personalised educational text messages.

Personalisation was based on the individual caries risk profiles of the Test group participants. It was expected that personalised education would be more effective at lowering caries risk than non-personalised education. If successful, this electronic-based education approach has the potential to provide effective personalised patient education not only for dental caries but other oral and lifestyle related diseases with individual variability.

This project was funded by the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) / Unilever Social Entrepreneur Approach to Change Oral Health Behaviour Research Award.

Publications

Protocol
Electronic-based personalised dental education for caries prevention in a disadvantaged population: a randomised controlled study. Protocol Number OHSRC00114. EPES Protocol
 
Journal Articles
Nishi M, Harding M, Kelleher V, Whelton H, Allen F. Knowledge of caries risk factors/indicators among Japanese and Irish adult patients with different socio-economic profiles: a cross-sectional study. BMC Oral Health. 2017;17:55.  Link

Nishi M, Roberts A, Harding M, Allen F. Brief communication: Dentists' reproducibility in scoring the Plaque Index using a fluorescent colouring agent. J Ir Dent Assoc. 2017;63:212-6.  Link

Oral Presentation
Nishi M, Harding M, Cronin M, Whelton H, O’Mullane D, Kumagai T, Allen F. Actual and self-perceived risk of dental caries in disadvantaged people. The Irish Division Annual Scientific Meeting of the IADR, Cork, 4 March, 2016.

Poster Presentations
Nishi M,  Harding M, Allen F. Dentists reliability scoring the Plaque Index using a fluorescent colouring agent. The 21st meeting of the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH), Budapest, 30 September, 2016.
 
Nishi M, Harding M, Cronin M, Allen F. Subject characteristics in a caries prevention project for disadvantaged people. The 94th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, Seoul, 25 June, 2016.

Oral Health Services Research Centre

University Dental School & Hospital, Wilton, Cork T12 E8YV, Ireland.

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