The free mobile app Brush DJ helps kids adopt and maintain an effective oral healthcare routine, according to a new study published in the British Dental Journal.
The study was led by Brush DJ developer and general dentist, Ben Underwood, BChD, who spoke with DrBicuspid.com about how mobile apps can help dental practices in August. The evidence-based app plays two minutes of music from the user's device and also includes reminders to brush twice a day, use a mouthwash, visit the dentist, and change a toothbrush head.
"Brush DJ showed positive effect across four main themes -- motivation, education, compliance, and perceived benefits," Underwood stated in a press release. "The results of our study indicate that apps such as Brush DJ are beneficial to users and open the way for further research to extend their use and effectiveness still further."
The study included 189 respondents to a user perception questionnaire. Underwood and colleagues found the app has great potential as a way to convey important oral health information and that it is reasonable to prescribe such an app in the same way as a fluoride toothpaste (BDJ, August 28, 2015).
Other findings include the following:
- 70% of users said their teeth felt cleaner since using the app.
- 88% said that Brush DJ motivated them to brush their teeth for longer.
- 90% would recommend the app to friends and family.
"A mobile app is a promising tool to motivate an evidence-based oral hygiene routine," the study authors concluded.
"Caries and other dental health conditions are ultimately preventable, and the great thing about an app such as Brush DJ is that we can show that it has a positive effect for children," stated study co-author Elizabeth Kay, foundation dean of the Peninsula Dental School at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. "More research based on the findings from this study will help us to develop the app and investigate methods for its more widespread use."
