Influence of a Smartphone Application on the Oral Health Practices and Behaviors of Parents of Preschool Children

Purpose: Numerous oral health promotion programs are directed at reducing the prevalence of early childhood caries. Smartphone applications (app) may be beneficial in oral health promotion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a smartphone app, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), on the oral health behaviors of the parents of preschoolers.Methods: A two-phase, sequential, embedded mixed methods design explored how the app influenced the attitudes, beliefs, perceived behavioral control, and intentions of parents of preschoolers. Phase 1 was a quasi-experimental, one-group pretest-posttest design. Parents of preschool aged children (n=26) participated in the 4-week intervention. Phase 2 consisted of qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of parents from Phase 1 (n=11).Results: Parents' behavioral intentions or oral health behaviors with their preschoolers did not significantly change from pre- to post-intervention (p>.05). Social norms (SN)...