What does the public want?

To help improve the teeth4life App, I have had the support from Design for Growth. I need to ask the public and the profession what they want. It's not as easy as it sounds, but a couple of articles I came across this weekend. One from 2004
A pilot study of patients' views of an oral health scoring system
And this comment

Of respondents, 97% considered that the OHS gave them a better understanding of the condition of their mouth and 98% considered that the OHS was a good method for communication between dentist and patient.

As it was before we had smart phones, so perhaps a free App could help?
The other much larger article was eighteen years later, this is the LINK and this 
is part of the conclusion.....

Of these, psychological and emotional factors such as control, shame and trust are very important.

Our patients trust us, and we have to encourage them to keep themselves healthy, and so recommending your App by sending an email, as well as physically handing over a card specifically about the good and poor aspects of their teeth has a minimal cost, but a big benefit saving both you and your patient time, and improving both your financial wellbeing. 

Getting support for the App has been an interesting experience, and why would you "trust" the App and its contents? Well it could be if it was endorsed by the NHS, which was my approach last year. It failed like many health innovations, and the reason is below. But if it was endorsed by the profession, or part of it. All these like the App, BDA, BSDHT, BSDT, FGDP, BADN. but will any of you endorse it? If there is an element that you don't approve of, please add in the feedback section on this website, or DM.

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​The teeth4life App has a traffic light scoring system, and to help promote the App for the public and the profession, I wanted it to be endorsed by the NHS. I paid for an Orcha review and the necessary changes in the App structure to get it on the NHS App library. At a later discussion, they advised that it was in a tier 3 status because of the traffic light scoring, and I needed to carry out an RCT. I couldn't use any current evidence-based research; I had to do my own. I couldn't afford the RCT, and their suggestion was to remove the scoring, and it would get approval as a tier 2 App, like Brush DJ. 
However, it will be of less value for the user and not encourage them to take ownership of their health. It would be a mobile webpage, not an App. 
How did the scoring system work in the pilot studies? If the scoring system is the same as the pilot scheme, the App may get NHS approval, as all the videos on prevention in the App follow the government's guidelines on delivering better oral health. 

Please get in touch, and we could discuss how your experience could be used to improve the content of the current App,  and for a future premium version of the App. All AHSNs I have spoken to like the App, but say it needs funding- but not by them. When it is self-funding, the NHS may be interested. But if the profession funds it, we should take the credit.