Clinical evaluation of the plaque-removing ability of four different toothbrushes in visually impaired children.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of plaque removal of four different toothbrushes in visually disabled children. Three manual toothbrushes with different bristle designs (Oral-B CrossAction 40-regular, Oral-B ShinyClean 40-soft, Oral-B Advantage 40-soft) were compared with an electric toothbrush with an oscillating rotating head (Colgate Motion). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty visually impaired children in a professional education center participated in the study and were divided into 4 groups of 10 participants each. To obtain a plaque-free condition at baseline, professional toothcleaning was performed on each participant. After instructions on how to use the toothbrushes, each group started the experiment using a differently designed toothbrush. After 1 week of application, the Quigley Hein plaque index (QHI) was used to assess the oral hygiene status of each participant. Student's t-test was chosen for comparing brushes. P < 0.01 was considered as the significance level. Results were presented as mean ± standard deviation. RESULTS: The QHI values obtained with the electric Colgate Motion brush were the lowest (0.088 ± 0.051) and Advantage (0.801 ± 0.132) the highest. Although the QHI values with the manual Oral-B CrossAction (0.439 ± 0.094) were lower than those with the Oral-B shiny clean (0.503 ± 0.098), there was no statistical difference between the two. CONCLUSION: The electric toothbrushes are still the most effective in the visually disabled group. However, because of cheaper cost, easier availability and use, the Oral-B CrossAction toothbrush with criss-cross bristles could be a suitable alternative.