Does Text Message Reminder Help Orthodontic Patients to Wear Intra-Oral Elastics During the Treatment?

Objective: To determine if text messaging reminders regarding intra oral elastic wear have any influence on the level of compliance in an orthodontic population. Materials & Methods: Eighty orthodontic patients were considered out of which 40 patients (20 Males & 20 Females) were assigned to a text message group (Study Group) & 40 patients (20 Males & 20 Females) were assigned to a Non-text message group (Control group), who did not receive a reminder text message. Message was sent once daily for a period of one month. The participants were given a fixed number of elastics (60 per patient) at the start of the study and were asked to collect used elastics for the period of one month and counts of these were used to assess compliance. Results: Compliance with elastic wear had significant difference among patients. Female patients proved to be more compliant compared to males in both the groups. The study group returned more number of used elastics than the control group, suggesting increased compliance. Conclusion: A text message reminder system explaining the importance of wearing Intra-oral elastics sent to patients once daily is an effective way to improve compliance in orthodontic patients.