Oral Health Behavior ChangeSEHATNCT07536958
SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Promotion for School Adolescents in Pakistan
A study testing SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education and Conventional Oral Health Education in people with Oral Health Behavior Change, run by Shifa College of Dentistry at 1 site in Pakistan.
Trial summary
The goal of this cluster-randomized trial is to learn if the SEHAT program works to improve oral health among school adolescents in Pakistan. It will also assess how the program affects oral health behaviors and knowledge. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 11 to 15 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Oral Health Behavior Change
- What is being tested?
- SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education and Conventional Oral Health Education
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 1,500 participants
- Where
- 1 sitePakistan
- Study dates
- Apr 2026to Sep 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 11 to 15 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- For the Schools/grades:
- Public high schools situated in the urban and rural areas of the Rawalpindi city, Punjab, Pakistan to account for the regional variations.
- Single-gender schools housing classes 6th to 10th.
- A minimum total enrollment of 300 - 500 students
- A minimum of 30 students per section in the targeted grades (6th, 7th, and 8th).
- The schools that sign an agreement to
Show all 12Show fewer
- Participate in the trial
- Be randomized to any of the study arms
- Assign the trial related tasks to the teachers. For study participants.
- Currently enrolled students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades.
- Diverse socioeconomic backgrounds
- Students with parental and personal informed consent to participate in the trial
Who cannot join
- Students currently undergoing active orthodontic treatment.
- Students with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent the use of digital interfaces.
- Students with systemic medical conditions that manifest as oral health complications.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Pakistan1 site
Public Schools, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Rawalpindi, 34178
Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PHD (Candidate), 03216127576, sadia.scd@stmu.edu.pk
About this study
Official title: Evaluating the Impact of Novel Oral Health Promotion Program "SEHAT" Among Adolescents in Pakistan's Resource-Constrained Settings: A Cluster Randomized Trial
The goal of this cluster-randomized trial is to learn if the SEHAT program works to improve oral health among school adolescents in Pakistan. It will also assess how the program affects oral health behaviors and knowledge. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does the SEHAT program improve toothbrushing behavior and oral hygiene?
- Does the SEHAT program reduce plaque and gingival scores among adolescents?
- Does the program improve oral health knowledge and awareness?
Read more
Researchers will compare the SEHAT virtual intervention with conventional oral health education and a control group to see which approach is most effective.
Participants will:
- Take part in either the virtual SEHAT session or conventional in-person oral health education, or receive no intervention (control)
- Watch structured 30-minute sessions delivered via Zoom (virtual group) or classroom instruction (conventional group)
- Participate in follow-up assessments to measure plaque, gingival indices, and oral health knowledge and behaviors.
Read the detailed description
This study is a cluster randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of the SEHAT (School-Based Education for Oral Health Awareness Using Advanced Telecommunication Technology) intervention among adolescents aged 11-14 years in public schools in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The trial aims to improve oral health behaviors, knowledge, and clinical outcomes, including plaque and gingival scores.
Schools (clusters) will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: virtual SEHAT intervention, conventional in-person oral health education, or control (no intervention). The virtual intervention will deliver structured 30-minute sessions via Zoom, incorporating interactive elements, culturally relevant content, and reinforcement strategies, while the conventional group will receive the same content through face-to-face classroom instruction.
Outcome assessments will include clinical oral health measures (plaque and gingival indices) and self-reported oral health knowledge and behaviors, collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at follow-up timepoints to evaluate short- and medium-term effects. The study will also explore sustained engagement, feasibility, and acceptability of digital oral health education in resource-constrained school settings.
This trial addresses gaps in evidence regarding digital oral health interventions in low-resource settings, particularly for adolescents, and will provide data to guide scalable, culturally adapted, school-based oral health promotion strategies.
- Conditions
- Oral Health Behavior Change
- Being tested
- SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education, Conventional Oral Health Education
- Keywords
- Oral Hygiene, Oral Health Education, Adolescents, Plaque Score, Gingival Index, Oral Health Promotion, Digital Health, Distant Education, Telehealth
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SEHAT Virtual Oral Health EducationBehavioural
A structured oral health promotion program delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors.
Conventional Oral Health EducationBehavioural
Face-to-face classroom-based oral health education using standardized content.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual SEHAT Intervention | Experimental | A structured oral health promotion session delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors. Receives: Behavioral: SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education |
| Conventional Oral Health Education | Active comparator | Face-to-face classroom-based oral health education session using standardized content. Receives: Behavioral: Conventional Oral Health Education |
| Control Group | No intervention | Participants receive no intervention during study period. Intervention: Leave blank |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Silness-Löe Plaque Index
The index assigns a score from 0 to 3 based on the amount of plaque present on four surfaces of a tooth.
0 = No plaque in the gingival area. 3 = Abundance of plaque along the gingival margin. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome (greater accumulation of dental plaque).
Measured: Baseline and follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted17 Apr 2026
- Study startApr 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionAug 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionSep 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Oral Health Behavior ChangeStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- This is a cluster randomized, parallel-assignment trial in which school grades (clusters) are randomly assigned to one of three groups: the virtual SEHAT intervention, conventional in-person oral health education, or a control group receiving no intervention. Each cluster receives only the assigned intervention, and outcomes will be compared between groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions on oral health behaviors, knowledge, attitude and clinical measures such as plaque and gingival indices.
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 1,500 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Shifa College of Dentistry
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Sadia Musharraf, Shifa College of Dentistry
- Investigators
- Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PhD (Candidate), Principal investigator, Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer e Millat University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07536958
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- SEHAT-CRT-2026
- Acronym
- SEHAT
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 11 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 22 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 22 Apr 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the Impact of Novel Oral Health Promotion Program "SEHAT" Among Adolescents in Pakistan's Resource-Constrained Settings: A Cluster Randomized Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07536958
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SEHAT / SEHAT-CRT-2026
- Conditions
- Oral Health Behavior Change
- Keywords
- Oral Hygiene, Oral Health Education, Adolescents, Plaque Score, Gingival Index, Oral Health Promotion, Digital Health, Distant Education
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 1,500 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Shifa College of DentistryUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- Apr 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Aug 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Sep 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 17 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this cluster-randomized trial is to learn if the SEHAT program works to improve oral health among school adolescents in Pakistan. It will also assess how the program affects oral health behaviors and knowledge. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does the SEHAT program improve toothbrushing behavior and oral hygiene?
- Does the SEHAT program reduce plaque and gingival scores among adolescents?
- Does the program improve oral health knowledge and awareness?
Researchers will compare the SEHAT virtual intervention with conventional oral health education and a control group to see which approach is most effective.
Participants will:
- Take part in either the virtual SEHAT session or conventional in-person oral health education, or receive no intervention (control)
- Watch structured 30-minute sessions delivered via Zoom (virtual group) or classroom instruction (conventional group)
- Participate in follow-up assessments to measure plaque, gingival indices, and oral health knowledge and behaviors.
Detailed description
This study is a cluster randomized trial evaluating the effectiveness of the SEHAT (School-Based Education for Oral Health Awareness Using Advanced Telecommunication Technology) intervention among adolescents aged 11-14 years in public schools in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The trial aims to improve oral health behaviors, knowledge, and clinical outcomes, including plaque and gingival scores.
Schools (clusters) will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: virtual SEHAT intervention, conventional in-person oral health education, or control (no intervention). The virtual intervention will deliver structured 30-minute sessions via Zoom, incorporating interactive elements, culturally relevant content, and reinforcement strategies, while the conventional group will receive the same content through face-to-face classroom instruction.
Outcome assessments will include clinical oral health measures (plaque and gingival indices) and self-reported oral health knowledge and behaviors, collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at follow-up timepoints to evaluate short- and medium-term effects. The study will also explore sustained engagement, feasibility, and acceptability of digital oral health education in resource-constrained school settings.
This trial addresses gaps in evidence regarding digital oral health interventions in low-resource settings, particularly for adolescents, and will provide data to guide scalable, culturally adapted, school-based oral health promotion strategies.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
- Model description
- This is a cluster randomized, parallel-assignment trial in which school grades (clusters) are randomly assigned to one of three groups: the virtual SEHAT intervention, conventional in-person oral health education, or a control group receiving no intervention. Each cluster receives only the assigned intervention, and outcomes will be compared between groups to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions on oral health behaviors, knowledge, attitude and clinical measures such as plaque and gingival indices.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual SEHAT Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: SEHAT Virtual Oral Health EducationA structured oral health promotion session delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors. |
| Conventional Oral Health Education | Active comparator | Behavioral: Conventional Oral Health EducationFace-to-face classroom-based oral health education session using standardized content. |
| Control Group | No intervention | –Participants receive no intervention during study period. Intervention: Leave blank |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 11 to 15 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (12 listed)
- Public high schools situated in the urban and rural areas of the Rawalpindi city, Punjab, Pakistan to account for the regional variations.
- Single-gender schools housing classes 6th to 10th.
- A minimum total enrollment of 300 - 500 students
- A minimum of 30 students per section in the targeted grades (6th, 7th, and 8th).
- The schools that sign an agreement to
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Students currently undergoing active orthodontic treatment.
- Students with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent the use of digital interfaces.
- Students with systemic medical conditions that manifest as oral health complications.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| SEHAT Virtual Oral Health EducationA structured oral health promotion program delivered virtually using interactive sessions designed to improve oral health knowledge and behaviors. | Behavioural | Virtual SEHAT Intervention |
| Conventional Oral Health EducationFace-to-face classroom-based oral health education using standardized content. | Behavioural | Conventional Oral Health Education |
Primary outcome
Silness-Löe Plaque Index
Time frame: Baseline and follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months
The index assigns a score from 0 to 3 based on the amount of plaque present on four surfaces of a tooth. 0 = No plaque in the gingival area. 3 = Abundance of plaque along the gingival margin. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome (greater accumulation of dental plaque).
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 22 Apr 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PhD (Candidate) principal investigator
Shifa College of Dentistry, Shifa Tameer e Millat University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing SEHAT Virtual Oral Health Education and Conventional Oral Health Education in people with Oral Health Behavior Change, run by Shifa College of Dentistry at 1 site in Pakistan.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 12 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Pakistan. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Sadia Musharraf, BDS, MCPS, PhD (Candidate) (92 321 6127576, sadia.scd@stmu.edu.pk), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Silness-Löe Plaque Index (time frame: Baseline and follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 22 Apr 2026.