Impact of Sonic Brushes on the Hygienic Compliance Of The Orthodontic Patient: Comparison Between Motivational Methods

Objectives: Plaque control and management of the inflammatory process are the main concerns during orthodontic treatments. Therefore, the design and application of a personalized treatment, aimed at assuring patient compliance represent a gold standard during the treatment schedule. Here, we aim at 1) validating the use of a home-based sonic oscillating device to maintain oral health 2) evaluating whether the use of a three movements" brushing technique may increase patient compliance 3) training the professional in motivational counselling based on effective, safe and easy to reproduce techniques.
Methods: 40 patients, enrolled in the study, were subjected to the orthodontic treatment with Multi-Brackets. The oral cavity was virtually divided in two sections (I-IV and II-III quarters). Patients received a treatment using a sonic brush+ pipe cleaner in the I and II quarter, while in the II and III quarters patients were treated using a sonic brush with 3 different angles against the bracket localization. A three-color plaque detector gel (Tri Plaque ID Gel ™), plaque and GI bleeding (Silness and Loe 1963-64) index were used to determine inflammatory parameters and detergent efficacy. Two assessments (T0-T1) were recorded at a closed time range (20 minutes), separated from treatment in both subjects, preceded to motivational counselling by a trained dental hygie student.
Results: While for the bleeding index no differences have been observed between the two groups and the T0-T1 time points, a statistically significant difference for the plaque index has been observed within the two experimental groups at T0 (**p<0.001) and T1 (*p <0.05).
Conclusions: The use of a single instrument supported the patient during the procedure to increase compliance, resulting in faster procedures along with reduced traumatic risk, without compromising its effectiveness. Our findings suggest that using a single oral device in orthodontic treated patients may increase home adherence and could lead to possible better result in terms of inflammation and plaque control. Further studies and sample extensions must be conducted