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Manual toothbrushing reinforced with audiovisual instruction versus powered toothbrushing among institutionalized
Sachin Goyal1, Betsy S Thomas, Khandige Mahalinga Bhat
1Department of Periodontics, Bhojia Dental College & Hospital, Baddi-17035 Himachal Pradesh, India. drsachin82@gmail.com
Aim:
To assess and compare the effectiveness of Manual toothbrushing reinforced with audiovisual instructions with powered toothbrushing, among the institutionalized mentally challenged individuals under supervision of trained caretakers.
Materials And Methods:
A randomized cross over clinical trial of 6 months duration which included 16 subjects consisting of two phases of three months, for each of the 2 groups. In group A subjects were given manual toothbrushes with audio-visual aid followed by the powered toothbrushes & vice versa for group B. All subjects were instructed by trained care takers. An evaluation of the plaque & gingival scores was done at the end of 1, 2 & 3 months for both the groups.
Results:
Phase I showed statistically significant decrease in mean plaque scores (p=0.037) but insignificant mean gingival scores (p=0.189) in group A at end of 3 months. In phase II, statistically insignificant decrease in mean plaque & gingival scores were recorded at end of 3 months. In group B a statistically significant decrease in both plaque (p=0.002) & gingival (p=0.001) was found at end in both phases. Comparison of mean plaque & gingival scores of manual & powered toothbrushes at different intervals in both groups were statistically insignificant.
Conclusion:
For mentally challenged individuals, manual toothbrushes reinforced with audio-visual instructions for brushing may be comparable to the use of powered toothbrushes.
