An interventional study of Telephonic Postoperative Follow-up and Digital Postoperative Follow-up in Tooth Extraction, Postoperative Care and Patient Compliance, sponsored by King Saud University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Saudi Arabia. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-07.
Sponsored by King Saud University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
Effectiveness of Telephonic and Digital Postoperative Follow-up Communication Strategies on Patient Compliance, Clinical Recovery, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life Following Dental Extraction
(CONNECT Study - CONtinuous post-operative NETwork Communication to Enhance Compliance after Tooth Extraction)
Tooth extraction is one of the most commonly performed dental procedures. Although most patients recover uneventfully, complications such as pain, swelling, bleeding, infection, and dry socket may occur if postoperative instructions are not followed correctly. Dentists routinely provide verbal and written instructions after tooth extraction; however, patients may forget or misunderstand these instructions once they leave the clinic, resulting in reduced compliance and delayed recovery.
Previous research conducted at our institution demonstrated that postoperative telephone follow-up improved patient compliance with post-extraction instructions compared with routine verbal and written instructions alone. Building on these findings, the present study aims to evaluate whether different methods of postoperative communication-including telephone calls, digital messaging, and a combination of both-can further improve patient compliance and clinical recovery following dental extraction.
Participants undergoing routine dental extraction will receive the standard postoperative verbal and written instructions provided by the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Depending on the assigned study group, participants may also receive structured telephone follow-up, digital communication via a secure messaging platform, or both during the early postoperative period. The information provided through these communication methods will reinforce the same postoperative instructions routinely given in the clinic and will not alter the clinical treatment received.
Participants will be followed for one week after the extraction. Information will be collected regarding their adherence to postoperative instructions, pain levels, occurrence of complications such as dry socket, and oral health-related quality of life using validated questionnaires. These assessments will help determine whether additional postoperative communication improves patient recovery and overall treatment outcomes.
The study involves minimal risk because the communication methods are intended only to reinforce standard postoperative care and provide patients with an opportunity to clarify any concerns they may have during recovery. Participation in the study is entirely voluntary, and patients may withdraw at any time without affecting the quality of their dental treatment.
The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence on the most effective postoperative communication strategy following dental extraction. This may help improve patient education, enhance compliance with postoperative instructions, reduce preventable complications, and support the integration of digital communication technologies into routine dental practice.
752 studies on the registry are indexed under Patient Compliance; 72 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 216 is above the median of 116 across 527 interventional studies indexed under Patient Compliance.
Browse Patient Compliance studies →King Saud University is the lead sponsor of 169 studies on the registry; 21 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria - Participants must meet all of the following criteria:
Adults aged 18 years or older. Patients undergoing simple or surgical dental extraction under local anesthesia at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Able to understand and communicate in Arabic or English. Own a smartphone with access to a mobile messaging application (e.g., WhatsApp) and be able to receive telephone calls.
Willing and able to provide written . Willing to comply with the study protocol and attend the scheduled postoperative follow-up visits.
Exclusion Criteria - Participants meeting any of the following criteria will be excluded:
Patients younger than 18 years of age. Patients unable to provide informed consent. Patients with cognitive impairment, psychiatric illness, or neurological disorders that may interfere with understanding or complying with postoperative instructions.
Patients with hearing or speech impairment preventing effective telephone communication.
Patients without access to a smartphone or unable to use mobile messaging applications independently.
Patients requiring hospital admission following dental extraction. Patients undergoing extraction under general anesthesia. Patients who are unwilling or unable to complete the scheduled follow-up assessments.
Patients participating in another clinical trial that may influence postoperative recovery or study outcomes.
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants allocated to this arm will receive the department's standard postoperative care following dental extraction, consisting of verbal postoperative instructions from the treating clinician and a standardized written instruction sheet. No additional telephonic or digital follow-up communication will be provided beyond the routine postoperative review. This arm serves as the reference group for comparison with the intervention arms.
Behavioral: Standard Postoperative Care
Participants allocated to this arm will receive standard postoperative verbal and written instructions in addition to structured telephone follow-up communication during the first postoperative week. Telephone calls will reinforce postoperative instructions, including adherence to medications, oral hygiene, dietary recommendations, saline mouth rinses, smoking cessation, and management of common postoperative concerns. The calls will also provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions regarding their recovery.
Behavioral: Telephonic Postoperative Follow-up
Participants allocated to this arm will receive standard postoperative verbal and written instructions together with structured digital follow-up communication during the first postoperative week. Digital communication will be delivered via a secure mobile messaging platform and will include reminder messages, educational infographics, and short instructional videos to reinforce routine postoperative instructions. Participants may also communicate questions related to their postoperative recovery through the same platform.
Behavioral: Digital Postoperative Follow-up
Participants allocated to this arm will receive standard postoperative verbal and written instructions, along with structured telephone follow-up and digital communication during the first postoperative week. Telephone calls and digital educational materials will reinforce postoperative instructions and provide participants with opportunities to clarify concerns during recovery. This arm represents the highest level of postoperative communication support. It will be compared with the other study arms to evaluate its effectiveness in improving compliance, clinical recovery, and oral health-related quality of life.
Behavioral: Telephonic Postoperative Follow-up · Behavioral: Digital Postoperative Follow-up
Telephonic postoperative follow-up consists of structured telephone calls delivered by trained study personnel during the first postoperative week following dental extraction. Calls reinforce routine postoperative instructions, assess patient understanding, encourage adherence to medications and self-care recommendations, address common postoperative concerns such as pain or bleeding, and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions regarding their recovery. A standardized communication script will be used to ensure consistency across participants.
Digital postoperative follow-up consists of structured communication delivered through a secure mobile messaging platform during the first postoperative week following dental extraction. Participants will receive standardized reminder messages, educational infographics, and short instructional videos that reinforce routine postoperative instructions on medication adherence, oral hygiene, diet, saline mouth rinses, smoking avoidance, and management of common postoperative symptoms. Digital communication will follow a predefined schedule and standardized content to ensure uniformity across participants.
Standard postoperative care consists of routine verbal instructions provided immediately after dental extraction, along with a standardized written instruction sheet. The instructions include guidance on bleeding control, medication adherence, oral hygiene, dietary recommendations, saline mouth rinses, smoking avoidance, and measures to promote uncomplicated healing. No additional structured telephonic or digital follow-up communication is provided beyond the routine postoperative review.
Patient compliance with postoperative instructions
Patient compliance will be assessed using a structured postoperative compliance questionnaire evaluating adherence to standardized post-extraction instructions, including medication use, oral hygiene, saline mouth rinses, dietary recommendations, smoking avoidance, and clot protection. The total compliance score will be compared between the study groups.
Time frame: Postoperative Day 7
Postoperative pain intensity
Postoperative pain will be measured using a 10-cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), where 0 represents no pain and 10 represents the worst imaginable pain.
Time frame: 6 hours, Postoperative Day 1, Day 3, and Day 7
Incidence of alveolar osteitis (dry socket)
The occurrence of alveolar osteitis will be assessed clinically using standardized diagnostic criteria, including increasing postoperative pain associated with partial or complete loss of the blood clot requiring clinical management.
Time frame: Postoperative Day 3 and Day 7
Oral health-related quality of life
Oral health-related quality of life will be assessed using the validated Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Changes in OHIP-14 scores from baseline will be compared among the study groups.
Time frame: Baseline (preoperative) and Postoperative Day 7
Patient satisfaction with postoperative communication
Participant satisfaction with the postoperative communication strategy will be evaluated using a structured questionnaire incorporating a five-point Likert scale assessing clarity of instructions, ease of communication, confidence during recovery, and overall satisfaction.
Time frame: Postoperative Day 7
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be made publicly available due to participant confidentiality and institutional data protection policies. De-identified datasets may be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to Institutional Review Board approval and applicable institutional regulations.
Start is estimated for Aug 2026; primary completion for Apr 2027, 8 months later.
Of 224 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Patient Compliance, half reached primary completion within 20 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 37. This study's planned 8 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 237 studies reached it within 20 months; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 38.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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