# Optimizing Acute Post-Operative Dental Pain Management Using New Health Information Technology

> **NIH AHRQ U18** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $393,779

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Pain has been deemed the fifth vital sign and many describe it as an adverse event. The adequate management
of pain is the bane of the dental profession and its continuous assessment is crucial to minimizing patients'
pain experiences. Due to the duration of action of most commonly-used local anesthetic agents, dental patients
are unable to predict their pain following dental procedures until many hours later, when they have already
returned home and dental offices are closed. This has led to an over-reliance on pre-emptively prescribed
opioids by dental providers because they have no means to actively track their patients' pain after hours.
Innovative mobile applications and connected health technologies that allow real-time tracking of patients'
symptoms, functional status and quality of life, provide healthcare professionals with data that were previously
unavailable, and have fostered patient engagement, shared decision-making and adherence to treatment plans.
We propose an innovative solution to optimize the quality of dental pain monitoring and management by
implementing mobile phone technology to monitor patients' pain during the critical acute post-operative
phase. Our hypothesis is that by actively tracking these symptoms using mobile phones, we will promptly
identify the patients with sub-optimal pain experiences and offer providers an opportunity to intervene (e.g.
modify analgesic prescriptions), thereby eliminating needless suffering, reducing the occurrence and/or
severity of post-op complications, and enhancing the overall care experience. Our ultimate goal is to achieve
the quadruple aim: improve patient experience, improve patient outcomes, improve physician experience and
reduce per capita costs. We will test this hypothesis using a cluster-randomized experimental study design
with: (1) an intervention arm where patients receive push notifications through SMS text messages on their
mobile phones (FollowApp) at designated time intervals on Days 1, 3, 5 and 7; and (2) a control arm where
patients receive the usual care. This project will be conducted at two dental institutions: Willamette Dental
Group (WDG) and University of California San Francisco (UCSF). In Aim 1 we will customize the design
features of the existing Followapp at two dental institutions (Willamette Dental Group and University of
California San Francisco) and assess its capacity to accurately capture patient-reported outcomes. In Aim 2 we
evaluate the impact of using Followapp on patient post-op experiences and oral health outcomes. And in Aim 3,
we evaluate provider acceptance of Followapp and its impact on provider performance. By collecting patient
reported outcomes in a timely and usable way, we expect to help dentists enhance their practice performance
and reduce the burden of unnecessary opioid prescriptions on society.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9964819
- **Project number:** 5U18HS026135-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** JOEL M WHITE
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $393,779
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9964819

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9964819, Optimizing Acute Post-Operative Dental Pain Management Using New Health Information Technology (5U18HS026135-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9964819. Licensed CC0.

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