Improving Gum Health Among Older Adults Using AI Based mHealth for Personalized OHI

Improving Gum Health Among Older Adults in Hong Kong Through Artificial Intelligence-Based Mobile Health for Personalized Oral Hygiene Instruction

Background: Many older adults in Hong Kong lack thorough tooth cleaning and regular dental check-ups, which can lead to plaque-induced gum diseases and systemic health issues. A self-developed Mobile Health (mHealth) system, which utilizes smartphone photographs and artificial intelligence (AI), has been shown to accurately detect gum health. Personalized oral hygiene instruction (POHI) can then be provided based on the detected results.

Objectives:

1. To improve gum health among non-institutionalized older adults using mHealth and POHI.
2. To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of mHealth and POHI in improving gum health.

Hypothesis: The personalized oral hygiene instruction (OHI) in addition to AI based mHealth provided by volunteer social workers can improve clinical effectiveness and oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL).

Design and subjects: 88 older adults will be recruited from daycare centers, who will receive bi-weekly POHI based on their gum condition, detected by mHealth which is provided by trained volunteers.

Two calibrated assessors will assess the participants' gum health, oral hygiene, caries, dental plaque, and structured questionnaire at baseline, after 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year Study Instruments: Gingival Index, Plaque Index, International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) code, dental plaque microbiology, and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) + Structured Questionnaire.

Interventions: Personalized oral hygiene instruction using AI-powered mHealth provided by trained volunteers bi-weekly Main Outcomes: Gingival condition, Oral hygiene status, Dental plaque microbiology, and oral health-related quality of life.

Data analysis: t-tests and Wilcoxon rank-sum test will compare pre- and post-intervention data.

Expected Result: The use of mHealth and POHI provided by trained volunteers bi-weekly can lead to improved gum health among older adults.

The project will be conducted in prospective design (pre- and post-) comparing before and after the intervention without sub-group. Eligible elderly will receive bi-weekly AI-based mHealth and personalized OHI provided by (non-dental) trained volunteers. The recruitment of participants among Hong Kong elderly would be according to the following pre-set criteria. The clinical effectiveness of bi-weekly AI-based mHealth and personalized OHI provided by volunteer (non dental professonial people) will be assessed by Gingival Index, Plaque Index, Dental plaque microbilology, the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS), and Structured Questionnaire for Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The time interval for intervention will be up to 1 year. The assessments will be performed at baseline and 3-month, 6-month, 9-month and 1-year intervals.

Approximately 50 volunteers will be recruited through the respective district council of the participating day care centers in Hong Kong. They will be provide a one-day training at Faculty of Dentistry, the University of Hong Kong, regarding how to operate the mHealth system, provide personalized feedback based on the AI outputs, basics of conducting the structured interviews, and communicate with the subjects.

Subjects: 88 eligible subjects will be recruited through three day-care centers in Hong Kong.

(Pre) Baseline: Written informed consent will be obtained on the day of the baseline examination. Sociodemographic information such as age, gender, education, occupation, and medical conditions will be collected. The intraoral photo of participants will be taken for reference status of baseline. Two independent assessors will assess participants' gingival health status using gingival index, oral hygiene status using plaque index and participants' caries status using ICDAS criteria. Dental plaque on surface layer of root will be carefully collected without causing pain using sterilized excavators from two sites of each participant with root caries i.e. dental plaque from the sound root surface and root caries. Each Sample will be immediately suspended in 300 μl ethanol and frozen at -80°C later until further analysis of microbiome composition. Additionally, patient's demographics and OHRQoL using structured questionnaires and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) will be assessed.

Intervention: Participants will need to join for 3 months to 1 year. The participants will receive baseline and bi-weekly mHealth intervention to test the gum condition and receive personalized OHI to specific areas based on the result tested. Trained volunteers will take the anterior teeth and gum photo of participants with a smartphone camera at their homes or elderly centers without using any additional device such as retractors. Participants may need to pull the lips and cheek by their hands for photo taking. The photo will be uploaded into AI powered gum disease detection mobile application (GumAI app) by volunteers. The mHealth system will screen the intraoral photograph of anterior teeth, analyse the photograph, and label the gum condition as Healthy (green)/questionable (yellow)/diseased (red) within 2 minutes. According to the results tested by GumAI app, the volunteers will give personalized site specific OHI such as tooth brushing and interdental cleaning to elderly participants. This instruction includes brushing and interdental cleaning. If they have any personal concern or unclear points regarding oral hygiene practice, they can ask.

(Post) Assessment: The same assessment as in baseline at 3- months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year will be examined by 2 calibrated dentists.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects aged ≥60 years and able to give informed consent:
• Subjects who are mentally and cognitively healthy
• Subjects who have at least 20 anterior maxillary or mandibular natural teeth including incisors and canine.
• Subjects who can speak, read, or understand Cantonese for complete the satisfaction questionnaire.
• Subjects who can practice oral hygiene procedure (regular tooth brushing and interdental cleansing/flossing/brushing) daily on their own independently.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects who have less than 20 anterior maxillary or mandibular natural teeth with or without dental prostheses in those area.

  • Subjects who have mental illness, or similar problems that unable to complete the satisfaction questionnaire.
  • Subjects who cannot perform oral hygiene procedure (regular tooth brushing and interdental cleansing/flossing/brushing) by any condition of oral cavity such as tumor or maxillomandibular fixation.
  • Subjects who cannot attend weekly oral hygiene instruction at centers.