Dental caries and related extractions and hospital admissions in the UK are now represented at alarming levels among children and young people. In an attempt to combat this disturbing trend, a combined group of researchers from the universities of Sheffield, Cardiff, Leeds, York and Dundee have developed the BRIGHT trial, a systematic effort to improve young people’s oral health outcomes through various preventive measures.
One of these strategies aims to utilise mobile phones. The BRIGHT trial included a classroom lesson and two text messages each day about toothbrushing. The research involved 4,680 students aged 11-14 from 42 schools across England, Scotland and Wales.
James Colliver, lead learning manager at Outwood Academy City in Sheffield, said: “We have a lot of students losing their teeth so I felt it was definitely worthwhile. One of the girls, aged 12, who was in the class told me she’d already had eight teeth out, so that made it feel like this was really important”.
How effective was the trial? The results were mixed. On the one hand, the trial clearly resulted in an improvement in the group’s brushing habits after six months. On the other hand, this positive behavioural change did not translate into a reduction of caries.
Prof. Zoe Marshman from the University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry co-led the BRIGHT, and emphasised the necessity of such efforts in raising awareness among teenagers and young people despite the mixed results: “This is a critical stage for toothbrushing practices to become an established behaviour for adulthood. This is why it is vital to help young people to improve their understanding of the importance of toothbrushing and skills to prevent tooth decay”.
The study, titled ‘Behaviour change intervention (education and text) to prevent dental caries in secondary school pupils: BRIGHT RCT, process and economic evaluation’, was published in in Health Technology Assessment.
