en <div style=text-align: justify;><span style=font-size:14px;><strong>Aims: </strong>Social media has increasingly been used as a tool to deliver health education. This study examined the effect of a Telegram delivered oral health education program on self-efficacy, perceived benefits and barriers, gingival index, motivational beliefs, and dental cleaning behavior among students with gingivitis.<br> <strong>Materials & Methods:</strong> This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Sanandaj city, Iran, from January to December 2019. A total of 160 students were recruited from 8 schools and randomized into intervention and control groups. An oral health education program aimed at increasing dental cleaning behavior was developed based on the trans-theoretical model. The program consisted of 9 sessions delivered via a social media app called Telegram for 24 weeks. Outcomes included dental cleaning behavior, perceived self-efficacy, benefits, barriers, motivational beliefs, and gingival index, measured at baseline and 24 weeks after the intervention.<br> <strong>Findings:</strong> There were significant differences between the intervention and the control groups in the mean scores of perceived self-efficacy (p=0.01), perceived benefits (p=0.01), motivational beliefs (p=0.01), and gingival index (p=0.01) after the intervention. Further, 71.3% (n=57) of students in the intervention group (versus 10.1% (n=10) in the control group) performed the dental cleaning behavior after intervention (p<0.01).<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The findings showed that an oral health education program delivered via social media apps could improve students' oral health. Social media apps could reach a broad range of users, thus could improve access to oral health education programs.</span></div> Oral Health,Education,Social Media,Students,Gingivitis,Behavior, 1 7 http://hehp.daneshafarand.org/browse.php?a_code=A-10-10928-8&slc_lang=en&sid=4 I. Zareban 1003194753284600287071 1003194753284600287071 No Health Promotion Research Centre, Zahedan University of medical sciences, Zahedan, Iran A. Rahmani 1003194753284600287072 1003194753284600287072 No Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran L. Allahqoli 1003194753284600287073 1003194753284600287073 No Department of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran R. Ghanei Gheshlagh 1003194753284600287074 1003194753284600287074 No Spiritual Health Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran M. Hashemian 1003194753284600287075 1003194753284600287075 Yes Department of Public Health & Health Education, Faculty of Health, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran F. Khayyati 1003194753284600287076 1003194753284600287076 No Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Health Development, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran S. Wai-chi Chan 1003194753284600287077 1003194753284600287077 No Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Newcastle, Australia T. Volken 1003194753284600287078 1003194753284600287078 No School of Health Professions, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland B. Nemat 1003194753284600287079 1003194753284600287079 No Health Network of Sanandaj, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran