Teeth 4 Tots:An Oral Health Promotion

Multi-media Messaging Program

Rinal PatelPriya Gangolly

Health Problem

Despite improvement in the overall oral health of Americans, the CDC has reported a significant increase in dental caries among children ages 2-5 years, setting the stage for many young children to develop a lifetime of complications from poor oral health.

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsUntreatedCavitiesKids/

Target Audience

Parents of children ages 2-5 in the United States.

Health Goal

Decrease the incidence of dental caries in children ages 2-5 by strengthening oral health

education skills and behaviors in parents.

Behavioral Objectives

By the end of our campaign, the number of parents of children ages 2-5 in our sample audience:

1. Who supervise their children while brushing their teeth;

2. Who perform checks on their children's teeth for white or brown spots; and

3. Whose children brush at least twice a day

will increase by 30%, for the duration of the program.

Communication Objective

1) By the end of our campaign, 50% of the parents will report having increased their knowledge and skills of how to do teeth brushing and cavity checks. (SCT – Behavior Capability)

2) By the end of our campaign, 50% of the parents will have the confidence to perform oral health monitoring of their children. (SCT – Self-efficacy)

Text Message Library

Age 2:

Time: Message:

10:30am

You can pass germs that may cause tooth decay to your child through saliva. Rinse with anti-bacterial mouthwash to reduce the number of cavity-causing bacteria.

3:00pm Do not share cups or eating utensils, pre-chew your child's food, or put a pacifier in your mouth before giving it to your child.

7:30pm Lift your child’s lip daily and look for white or brown spots on the front and back sides of teeth near the gum line. See a dentist if you notice changes.

Text Program: In a Nutshell

• 100% found text messages were helpful (especially reminders)

• Supervision and cavity checks increased

• Incentives were working for 83% of parents

• Moving onto app…• Ask evaluation questions throughout the program and provide

incentives for each question the parent answers• Parents preferred an emphasis on dental caries checks and

supervision reminders• Parents have different schedules – ask for preferred time in

revised campaign

MAIN MENU

Customized Profile Page

• Age of child (for customized alerts)

• Date of last dentist appointment

• Preferences for # alerts/day

• Dentist’s contact information

Cavity Check Reminder Alert + Log

Toothbrush Timer with Customizable Song

Qualifying Alert

Personalized Tip for Teething

Personalized Tip for Thumb Sucking

Healthy Snack Encyclopedia

Attributes of InnovationRELATIVE ADVANTAGE

• If parents check for cavities on a daily basis, they won’t experience oral health problems (e.g. cavities) that lead to a greater expense for the parent

• Parents don’t miss twice-yearly appointments – appointment dates entered in Profile with reminder alerts

• Improves time management with reminders to check for cavities and scheduling appointments

COMPATIBILITY

• Profile is tailored to individual; age of child, date of last dentist appointment, # of preferred alerts/day

• Compatible with needs where parents feel that their child’s dental care needs are being followed and met

• Dentist’s number programmed into Profile, which prompts an alert to call the dentist when an appointment needs to be scheduled

• Child can pick the song they want to brush their teeth to, encouraging them to do perform the behavior

Attributes of Innovation

COMPLEXITY

• Simple user interface• Profile questions automatically place the child at

a level; parents don’t need to guess what their child’s needs are

• Alerts pop up on the screen asking parents a question whether they have checked child for cavities – direct

• Cavity check log is automatically updated• Parents don’t have to guess which snacks are

healthy; options are provided under certain categories of food

Attributes of Innovation

TRIALABILITY

• Teething and sucking thumb alerts are only offered to parents who answer that their child currently has these behaviors – parents don’t get tips that don’t apply to them

• Parents can unsubscribe from tip alerts or reduce the number of tips they receive per day

Attributes of Innovation

OBSERVABILITY

• After a week of checking for cavities or consistent tooth brushing, they have the option to post their gold star on Facebook or Twitter

• Social network game between parents to score who always remembers to check their child for cavities, has their child brush their teeth 2-3 times per day, and assisting with flossing• Parents can forward tips to other members (and in

their social media networks) and can also share their own tips amongst themselves

Attributes of Innovation

Communication Channels

• Mommy Bloggers focused on children’s health• Healthy Mom’s Magazine• The Mommy Blog

• Social networks for moms• Café Mom

• Opinion Leaders• Healthy Kids Pediatrics Blog – Dr. Deborah

Bain• “Dr. Gwynn is In” Blog

Partnerships

• Colgate• Bright Smiles, Bright

Futures• “Education to build healthy

habits, self esteem, and a foundation for success”

• Incentives

• CDC Division of Oral Health• Provide tips and advice

• Sesame Street• “Healthy Teeth” episode

building on skills

Timeline• Months 1-2 :

• Complete development of Teeth 4 Tots app

• Announce partnership with Colgate in release

• Partner with Mommy Bloggers to announce test launch of app

• Months 3-4 :

• Work with Colgate to advertise product on select packaging

• TV spots through Colgate

• Begin rolling out evaluation questions through alerts and provide incentives for participants

Months 5-7 :Begin social media component of program: Facebook + TwitterParents are able to connect with each other through the app to share advice/ideas

Months 8-10 :Parents can compete with each other through the app

Months 11-12: Evaluation