{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T13:27:42Z","timestamp":1785590862272,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755216000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755216000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"Dental Health Unit"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Oral Health"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Children\u2019s oral health continues to be a key issue, with dental caries remaining one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases. One of the main ways to prevent dental caries is to carry out adequate toothbrushing with fluoridated toothpaste. Connected or \u2018smart\u2019 toothbrushes can provide real-time feedback on brushing behaviour to individuals or be used to provide feedback to groups for example within a school setting. This study aimed to identify the engagement level of school children with a smart, connected toothbrush, explore brushing frequency, timing, coverage, and duration during the research period, and compare data to observed changes over time.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Data on brushing behaviour were obtained from a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial exploring smart, connected toothbrush use in a school-based brushing programme. Participants, aged 8\u201311 with access to a smart device, were recruited from six primary schools located in deprived areas of Manchester, England. Randomisation at the school level allocated participants to receive either a smart, connected toothbrush and text message intervention (intervention group) or the smart, connected toothbrush only (control group).<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>Of the 409 participants provided with a smart, connected toothbrush, 289 (71%) connected and used the device during the study. Of those who engaged with the connected devices, participants brushed at least twice a day on 48.2% of the days they brushed. On completed questionnaires, 78.8% of parents indicated their children brushed their teeth twice a day. Brushing frequency appeared to decrease over the weekends, particularly on weekend mornings.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>The results from this feasibility trial suggest that toothbrushing habits remain a fundamental area of importance, with a substantial proportion of children not brushing according to recommendations. Not all children connected or consistently used their devices during the study. Twice-daily brushing was infrequently recorded. Consideration must be given to the potential omission of brushing sessions, as the data may miss out sessions until the user syncs the brush with the app. Further research is needed to identify how frequency of brushing, particularly at the weekends, could be improved.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>\n          <jats:sec>\n            <jats:title>Registration<\/jats:title>\n            <jats:p>The study was retrospectively registered at ISRCTN, registration number ISRCTN77803149 on 28\/12\/2023.<\/jats:p>\n          <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12903-025-06581-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T12:40:02Z","timestamp":1755261602000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Exploring brushing and questionnaire data from a feasibility randomised control trial of a school-based smart, connected toothbrushing program"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"25","author":[{"given":"Michaela","family":"Goodwin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Kitsaras","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Momina","family":"Muzammil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicola","family":"Boothman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juliana","family":"Gomez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beulah Amulyavathi","family":"Gangaraju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tanya","family":"Walsh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"6581_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Walsh T, Worthington HV, Glenny AM, Marinho VC, Jeroncic A. Fluoride toothpastes of different concentrations for preventing dental caries. Cochrane Oral Health Group, editor. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Mar 4 [cited 2024 Jul 25]; Available from: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/14651858.CD007868.pub3","DOI":"10.1002\/14651858.CD007868.pub3"},{"key":"6581_CR2","unstructured":"WHO Global Observatory for eHealth. mHealth: new horizons for health through mobile technologies: second global survey on eHealth. 2011 [cited 2024 Jul 24]; Available from: https:\/\/iris.who.int\/handle\/10665\/44607"},{"issue":"8","key":"6581_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0136211","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0136211","volume":"10","author":"Y Anopa","year":"2015","unstructured":"Anopa Y, McMahon AD, Conway DI, Ball GE, McIntosh E, Macpherson LMD. PM Milgrom editor 2015 Improving child oral health: cost analysis of a National nursery toothbrushing programme. 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Ethical approval was secured by the University of Manchester\u2019s Proportionate University Research Ethics Committee (Ref.: 2022-15413-26189). Informed consent was obtained from parents, carers or legal guardians of any participant under the age of 16.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"Funding for the study was provided by Colgate-Palmolive, the connected brush used in the study was provided by Colgate and JG is a Colgate-Palmolive employee. GK, MG, MM, BG and NB are part of the Dental Health Unit of the University of Manchester which receives an unrestricted research grant from Colgate-Palmolive. TW has no conflict of interest to declare.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"1330"}}