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Effectiveness of Augmented Reality-Guided Interdental Brushing Instruction Compared With Conventional Methods: A
Seung-Hee Ryu1, Min-Joo Shin1, Hyun-Jae Cho1
1Department of Preventive Dentistry & Public Oral Health, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Objectives:
Patient instruction in interdental brushing is most often delivered chairside using a dentiform model or in-mouth demonstration, both of which are operator-dependent and difficult to standardize. Augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a learning aid in clinical training, but its effectiveness for direct patient education in oral hygiene has not been established. This trial compared the short-term effectiveness of three instruction methods-dentiform model demonstration (DM), in-mouth demonstration (IM) and AR-guided instruction-on plaque and gingival bleeding outcomes.
Methods:
A three-arm, parallel, single-center randomized controlled trial was conducted with 54 healthy adults aged 20-49 years with no prior interdental brush experience. Participants were allocated to DM (n = 17), IM (n = 19) or AR (n = 18) by stratified allocation. Standardized 15-min instruction was delivered at baseline and at Week 2. The primary outcome was the change in plaque index (PI) from baseline to Week 4; secondary outcomes were bleeding on probing (BOP), bleeding on interdental brushing (BOIB) and usability of the AR application.
Results:
PI decreased significantly in all three groups (all p ≤ 0.001). Mean PI reduction at 4 weeks was significantly greater in IM and AR than in DM (p < 0.001), with no significant difference between IM and AR. BOP and BOIB improved over time without significant between-group differences. AR usability was rated favourable (Cronbach's α = 0.928), with the highest scores for ease of learning and use.
Conclusions:
AR-guided interdental brushing instruction produced plaque reduction comparable to in-mouth demonstration and significantly greater than dentiform model instruction, supporting its potential as an adjunctive tool in dental hygiene practice.
Trial Registration:
The trial was retrospectively registered with the Clinical Research Information Service of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency: KCT0012015.