Plaque removal using a battery-powered toothbrush compared to a manual toothbrush

To evaluate the effectiveness of battery-powered tooth brushing in removing plaque in Kuwaiti children.

The subjects were 30 boys, aged 9-11 years. Prior to the start of the study, the children had never used a battery-powered toothbrush. At baseline, plaque accumulation was assessed for manual tooth brushing and battery-powered tooth brushing (Oral-B Kids battery-powered). All subjects then used the battery-powered toothbrush for two weeks at home. Plaque accumulation was again assessed for both manual and battery-powered tooth brushing. Plaque accumulation was assessed using the Soparkar modification of the Quigley-Hein Plaque Index. Differences in pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque, and change from baseline, were the outcome measures evaluated.

At baseline, there was no difference in plaque removal between battery-powered tooth brushing and manual tooth brushing, either in difference between pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque measures (p = 0.44) or in percentage change (p = 0.51). After two weeks of use, there was a statistically significant difference in plaque removal between battery-powered tooth brushing and manual tooth brushing, both in the difference between pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque measures (p = 0.01) and in percentage change (p = 0.006). Mean plaque removal by manual tooth brushing was 0.97 +/- 0.45, and mean plaque removal by battery-powered toothbrush was 1.23 +/- 0.56. Mean percentage change in plaque removal by manual tooth brushing was 33.5 +/- 16.05, and mean plaque removal by battery-powered tooth brushing was 43.0 +/- 18.82, which represented a 9.5% improvement for battery-powered tooth brushing compared to manual tooth brushing.

After two weeks use of a battery-powered toothbrush, the plaque removal was enhanced compared to baseline and to manual tooth brushing. Battery-powered tooth brushing also enhanced manual tooth brushing ability.