A novel mobile application developed to improve dental care communication for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals frequently experience communication barriers in dental settings, resulting in delayed care and increased dental anxiety. Digital tools tailored to their linguistic and cultural needs are limited. This study reports the development and preliminary evaluation of MoDeHe (Mobile Dentist Hearing), a novel mobile application designed to improve communication and support dental management for DHH individuals.

MoDeHe was fully developed by a multidisciplinary team, incorporating input from DHH consultants and dental professionals. The application consists of two main modules: (i) the Patient Information module, which provides educational sign language (SL) videos on oral health and common dental procedures, and (ii) the Dental Examination module, which includes SL-supported decision trees to facilitate communication during clinical examinations. A pre-post observational study was conducted with 39 DHH participants. Baseline measures included self-reported oral health status and items from the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale. Post-test measures assessed usability, satisfaction, communication preferences, and confidence attending dental care independently.

At baseline, 82.1% of participants had not visited a dentist in over two years and 89.7% perceived their oral health as poor. Communication barriers contributed to cancelled appointments (69.2%) and reliance on interpreters (61.5%). After interacting with MoDeHe, 97.4% reported satisfaction, 66.7% preferred the app as their primary communication facilitator, and 84.6% felt confident visiting the dentist without an interpreter.

MoDeHe is an innovative mobile health (mHealth) solution developed specifically for DHH individuals to enhance communication and accessibility in dental care. Its offline functionality and culturally adapted SL content support scalability in diverse, resource-limited settings. Future studies should assess long-term clinical usability and adaptation to regional SL variations.