Most impactful practitioner developed digital technology
This category recognises health and care practitioners who have found digital solutions to improve experience and outcomes for people they support. This may be developing a new digital technology or it may be about using an existing technology (including social media) in new and innovative ways
Brush DJ – Tooth decay is the most common reason for children aged between five and nine being admitted to a hospital in England.
Treatment costs millions of pounds and is traumatic for all those involved.
Tooth decay is preventable by having an effective daily toothbrushing routine. Unfortunately, many children find this task boring and are not motivated to carry it out for the correct length of time twice a day.
Brush DJ is the only evidence–based, free, NHS approved app that motivates an effective oral hygiene routine by playing 2 minutes of the users music – making toothbrushing fun!
Website:www.brushdj.com
More about Brush DJ
The Problem – at least 50% of the NHS dental budget is spent on the treatment of preventable disease; that is around £1-1.5 billion per year in England. Approximately 25,000 young children are admitted to hospital each year to have teeth taken out, making tooth decay the most common reason for children aged between five and nine being admitted to a hospital in England. Hospital treatment has a significant financial cost to the NHS and is a traumatic experience for the child, parent/carer and healthcare professionals involved.
Poor oral health can affect a child’s ability to eat, speak, smile and socialise normally, due to pain or embarrassment. An effective daily oral hygiene routine can prevent the build-up of dental plaque which causes tooth decay. The most basic task that can be carried out to prevent decay is toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste. To be effective this requires the disruption of the plaque on all the surfaces of each tooth. Two minutes of toothbrushing is required for it to be effective. Unfortunately, 46 seconds is the average length of time people spend brushing their teeth.
The Solution – how can a child be motivated to do something twice a day, for an effective length of time, every day? The free Brush DJ app motivates children to brush for two minutes by playing music, taken either from a playlist, or randomly, from the music stored on the user’s device and cloud. The idea of using music to motivate brushing for longer is not new, but listening to music in the bathroom has only become practical with the development of mobile devices with built in speakers.
Please watch this short video to see all the apps’ features.
Impact – so far the Brush DJ app has been downloaded onto 175,000 devices in 185 countries and has been approved by the NHS. A cross-sectional qualitative user perception questionnaire is being carried out among users of the app. To-date: • 466 people have responded to the questionnaire • 89% reported the app motivated them to brush their teeth for longer • 92% would recommend the app to their friends and family.
The final question asked of respondents is ‘could you explain to me why the Brush DJ app helps your toothbrushing?’ One story that exemplifies the benefit the app has had comes from a parent’s response: “The timer is great for making sure we brush long enough. The music makes my daughter less fussy about brushing her teeth. In fact, she doesn’t fight it at all now and even looks forward to it to see what song we’re gonna get to listen to. Oh, and it’s also great for reminding us to floss daily too!” The Brush DJ app is not a panacea, but it is an innovative free tool to help reduce the burden of dental decay in children in England and around the world.