Title
Evaluating the impact of motivational interviewing on adolescents' oral hygiene: A school-based randomized controlled trial
Authors
Shitanshu Malhotra*, Shailja Shukla, Akash Gautam & Chaman Zehra
Affiliation
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Career PG Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author
Shitanshu Malhotra - E-mail: shitanshumalhotra@gmail.com
Shailja Shukla - E-mail:
familydentalclinickanpur@gmail.com
Akash Gautam - E-mail: gautamakash28@gmail.com
Chaman Zehra - E-mail: chamanzehra207@gmail.com
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026
Abstract
Poor oral hygiene among adolescents remains a major public health concern due to inadequate plaque control and unhealthy oral hygiene practices. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing (MI) versus Standard Oral Health Education (SOHE) among 148 adolescents aged 13–18 years. Clinical outcomes, including OHI-S, Plaque Index and Gingival Index, were assessed at baseline and 3 months using ANCOVA. Motivational interviewing achieved significantly greater improvements in oral hygiene indices and brushing behaviours than SOHE, with an adjusted OHI-S mean difference of −0.38 (95% CI: −0.55 to −0.21; p<0.001). Thus, data shows that a brief, school-embedded MI program outperforms standard education in translating oral health knowledge into sustained behavioural practice among adolescents, offering a scalable model for school-based prevention programs.
Keywords
Adolescents, school, motivating, oral health, counselling
Citation
Malhotra et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 5115-5118 (2026)
Edited by
Ritik Kashwani
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
