Objectives: We performed a systematic review of studies that assessed the efficacy of mobile health care in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment, in an attempt to obtain contemporary evidence on the clinical impact of mobile health care on the patients' oral health and orthodontic treatment outcomes.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. We performed a comprehensive search using multiple databases (Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science) with no restrictions on the language of publication or publication status up until 23 April 2019 to identify eligible studies.
Results: We included 11 unique studies. In this review, 9 of the 11 selected studies showed positive effects of mobile healthcare intervention, which resulted in reduced scores of oral hygiene and periodontal indices and white-spot lesions, as well as decreased duration of treatment, sagittal distance and intensity of self-reported pain.
Conclusions: Mobile health care can be utilized as an adjuvant intervention to improve treatment outcomes in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. Oral healthcare experts should consider novel interventions using mobile devices in addition to the conventional mode of intervention.
Keywords: mobile applications; mobile health care; oral health; orthodontics; text messaging.
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