The effect of different mouth washes and text messages reminder in the oral health of orthodontic patients

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different mouth washes and to study the effect of text message reminder on the oral health status of orthodontic patients treated with fixed appliances. Methods: This study was a clinical trial with pre-test and post-test control group design, conducted on 24 patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment aged 15-30 years. The patients randomly divided into two groups; one received a weekly telephone text massage reminder for the instructions of brushing and rinsing while the second group did not receive any messages. Ortho-plaque index and gingival index were used to evaluate the patient’s oral hygiene status. The reading indices after brushing only were regarded as a control, then the patients were instructed to use two mouth washes, one containing sodium fluoride with cetylpyridinium chloride, the second containing chlorhexidine digluconate with cetylpyridinium chloride and Aloe Vera. Each one was used routinely for 4 weeks with the same amount and method. The washout period between the two types mouth washes was 4 weeks with a standardized toothbrush and paste. Results: Ortho-plaque index values decreased over the time between first, second and third visits. However, this index raised up at the fourth visit and again dropdown at the fifth visit. Similar results were detected for gingival index. Also, significant interaction between messages and the assessments was recorded for gingival index with a significant difference between the group of text messages and without text messages group (p