Dental Plaque Reduction Efficacy of a Power Brush in Children

Objectives: To assess the plaque reduction efficacy of a power toothbrush against a control regular manual brush in a pediatric population.
Methods: This was a single-brushing, two-treatment, randomized, four period crossover design. 40 children divided into two age groups: 3-6 years and 7-9 years of age (20 children per group, separate crossover per group) with evidence of plaque were enrolled into the study. The brushes tested were Oral-B Kids oscillating rotating power brush (electric) and Paro Junior Soft (manual). On site, subjects received a pre-brushing Turesky Modified Quigley-Hein Plaque Index (TMQHPI) assessment by an experienced examiner. Next, subjects were randomized and for the younger group the parents brushed their children’s teeth and in the older group the children brushed their own teeth with their assigned brush and regular toothpaste under supervision. After tooth brushing, subjects received a post-brushing plaque examination by the examiner. Plaque removal scores were analyzed for brush differences in each age group separately using an analysis of covariance for a crossover design.
Results: For the 3-6 years old group, the baseline plaque values in the primary dentition were 3.113 and 3.165 for the power and manual brush groups, respectively, and the plaque reductions after toothbrushing were 0.811 and 0.613 for power and manual brush groups, respectively, demonstrating the power brush reduced 32.3% more plaque than the manual brush (p=0.005). For the 7-9 years old group, the baseline plaque values in the mixed dentition were 3.315 and 3.259 for the power and manual brush groups, respectively, and the plaque reduction after toothbrushing were 0.773 and 0.509 for power and manual brush groups, respectively, showing the power brush reduced 51.9 % more plaque than the manual brush (p<0.001).
Conclusions: The power brush reduced statistically significantly more plaque than a regular manual brush in two different age pediatric populations.