IADR Abstract Archives
Power vs Manual Toothbrush among Children: A Meta Analysis
Objectives: In kids, what is the efficacy of Electric toothbrush vs. manual toothbrush on preventing dental plaque
Methods: The research was performed using the meta-analysis method. The inverse variance method is based on fixed- and random-effect models. The results are presented in graphs, funnel plots and forest plots. Bias is assessed by two bias indicators: Begg–Mazumdar using Kendall's tau and Egger. Heterogeneity test for comparison of strata and Cochran Q measured are used. Consistency of handling the data and combining results was assessed by I square. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system, is used.
Results: From a total of 1502 articles only 9 RCT studies were suitable for meta-analysis. In performing 2 tests of ‘bias indicators’, both groups yield statistically significant results (P = 0.006 and P = 0.013, respectively), indicative of a possible publication bias. According to the results obtained it can be seen that in most studies the electric toothbrush has shown a significantly higher plaque removal vs the manual toothbrush. The mean difference of the fixed-effect (FE) model and the random-effect (RE) model (0.324 and 0.261, respectively) were statistically significant (p<0.001). With regard to the forest plots and the pooled mean effect size the results indicated that the electric toothbrush might be more effective than Manual toothbrush. The strength of our recommendation was rated as moderate.
Conclusions: According to the Meta analysis it can be assumed that electric toothbrushes have a statistically significant superiority over manual toothbrushes among children.
Methods: The research was performed using the meta-analysis method. The inverse variance method is based on fixed- and random-effect models. The results are presented in graphs, funnel plots and forest plots. Bias is assessed by two bias indicators: Begg–Mazumdar using Kendall's tau and Egger. Heterogeneity test for comparison of strata and Cochran Q measured are used. Consistency of handling the data and combining results was assessed by I square. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system, is used.
Results: From a total of 1502 articles only 9 RCT studies were suitable for meta-analysis. In performing 2 tests of ‘bias indicators’, both groups yield statistically significant results (P = 0.006 and P = 0.013, respectively), indicative of a possible publication bias. According to the results obtained it can be seen that in most studies the electric toothbrush has shown a significantly higher plaque removal vs the manual toothbrush. The mean difference of the fixed-effect (FE) model and the random-effect (RE) model (0.324 and 0.261, respectively) were statistically significant (p<0.001). With regard to the forest plots and the pooled mean effect size the results indicated that the electric toothbrush might be more effective than Manual toothbrush. The strength of our recommendation was rated as moderate.
Conclusions: According to the Meta analysis it can be assumed that electric toothbrushes have a statistically significant superiority over manual toothbrushes among children.