The Plaque Removal Effectiveness of Powered and Manual Tooth Brush in Children: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective: Aim of this study was to compare the plaque-reducing effectiveness of powered and manual tooth brushing in a small group of children.Materials and Methods: Ten children aged between 7 to 10 years old were included the study. Each child firstly used manual tooth brush (ORAL B Stages for children). After two weeks children were asked to use powered tooth brush (ORAL-B TRIUMPH 5000 SMART GUIDE) for two weeks. Turesky modification of the Quigley and Hein Plaque Index (TQHPI) and Approximal Plaque Index (API) scores were recorded every two weeks. Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for comparison the jaws and powered brush /manual brush. Significance at p <0.05 were considered.Results: The whole mouth TQHPI and API were significantly different at after Powered Tooth brushing (p=0,005, p= 0,012). Statistics determined the most significant relationship was observed between baseline-post powered brushing and between manual-powered brushing in both TQHPI and API values (p=0.008**,p=0.005**,p=0.018*,p=0.012*). Conclusion: Considering the results of the pilot study; it shows that it is more effective in removing dental plaque in both automatic and manual tooth brushing. Therefore, powered tooth brush can also be recommended for children to increase the oral health.