Text messages and price cuts may boost dental check-ups
NCT ID NCT07121673
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether sending WhatsApp messages that offer a discount or suggest scheduling a dental check-up on the same day as a medical appointment increases preventive dental care. Over 300,000 adults in Chile who had a medical visit coming up and hadn't seen a dentist in 6 months were included. The goal was to see if these simple behavioral nudges could prevent cavities.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- WhatsApp messages with price discounts and bundling prompts
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show simple, low-cost ways to encourage more people to get preventive dental care, reducing cavities.
- What could go wrong
- This is a completed behavioral study, not a treatment trial. Results may not apply to other populations or settings, and the effect may be small.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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306,524 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Finished
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Jan 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients aged 18 to 70 years * Have a valid mobile phone number that can receive WhatsApp messages, recorded in the clinic network's patient database * Have a scheduled non-dental medical appointment between 1 and 7 days after the day the WhatsApp message is received * Have not attended a dental appointment at the clinical network in the past 6 months
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Partnering clinic network at Chile
Santiago, Chile
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.