Background
Effective prevention-focused, value-based strategies are needed to improve oral health. Despite evidence that monetary incentives can motivate healthy behavior, well-powered studies have yet to examine incentives for improving children's oral hygiene.Aim
Describe the rationale and design of the BEhavioral EConomics for Oral health iNnovation (BEECON) trial, which tests lottery-based monetary incentives as a consumer-oriented, value-based care model for improving children's oral hygiene.Design
Phase II, stratified, permuted block randomized, controlled, two-arm, parallel groups, prevention trial.Setting
Study visits occur at three Los Angeles, CA health clinics.Participants
Two hundred and forty-four parent-child dyads with a child aged 6-48 months.Interventions
Eligible dyads were randomized in equal allocation to one of two groups: lottery incentive group or waitlist (delayed incentive) control group. Weekly lottery incentives were offered for 6 months based on Bluetooth-recorded toothbrushing frequency. Both groups received weekly text message feedback on toothbrushing performance.Outcomes
The primary outcome was toothbrushing performance from baseline to 6 months, measured as the mean number of qualifying half-day Bluetooth-recorded episodes per week when the child's teeth were brushed. Secondary outcomes included toothbrushing performance sustainability through 12 months and dental caries status.Conclusions
BEECON offers a consumer-oriented approach to promoting value-based oral health care. We hypothesize that lottery-based incentives can improve oral hygiene in young children. Study results will inform programming efforts to enhance oral disease prevention in young children.Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03576326.