Effectiveness of message-framing to improve oral health behaviors and dental plaque among pregnant women

BACKGROUND: Oral health is considered a prominent factor that contributes to quality of life. Hormonal changes during pregnancy can influence oral health. Message framing can play an important role in oral health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of message framing on oral health and dental plaque among pregnant women. METHODS: The study was conducted in 2017 on 108 pregnant women in Izeh county, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned to gain-framed, loss-framed, and control groups. The research instrument included a two part questionnaire containing demographic information and oral health knowledge, attitude, behavioral intention, self-efficacy, practice, and dental plaque index. Gain-and loss-framed messages were sent to the intervention groups via cell phone texts, but the control group did not receive any messages. Participant dental plaque was clinically assessed. Analysis of covariance with follow-up tests were performed using SPSS version, 23.0 with p-value set at 0.01 for significance. RESULTS: Intervention groups had better oral health (knowledge, atttitude, intention, efficacy, practices and plaque) scores compared to the control group (p < 0.001), but intervention (gain- vs loss-framed) groups did not differ on outcomes. CONCLUSION: Text message intervention improved knowledge, attitude, behavioral intention, self-efficacy, practice, and dental plaque among pregnant women. While differences between control and both intervention groups indicated text messaging had an impact on oral health outcomes, message framing (i.e., gain vs loss) had no discernable impact on oral health outcomes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13690-021-00640-1.