Effects of a Reminder Intervention for Dental Outpatients

Objectives: The goals of the study were to investigate the effects of a scaling reminder intervention to dental outpatients in a hospital. Methods: 389 outpatients were systematically assigned to three intervention groups (postal reminder, mobile text reminder, telephone reminder) and one controlled group. Messages reminding patients to return for regular scaling combined with scaling health education were sent to experimental groups. Returning patients and some non-returning patients from each experimental group were selected for intervention evaluation by telephone interviews. Results: Returning rates were between 11-20%. Factors influencing returning for scaling included higher education, better medical satisfaction, and being reminded. There were no differences in returning rates among different reminding methods. 90% patients felt positive toward reminders. 96% agreed that the hospital cared about patients. 61% agreed the hospital hoped to raise medical incomes. 65% agreed that reminder influenced their returning intention. 92% hoped to continue to receive reminders, encompassing broader oral health topics. Conclusions: Regular oral-checking habits needed to be enhanced among patients. Patients felt positive toward reminding. Reminding is an effective way for patient education as well as patient management.