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Dental plaque disclosure as an auxiliary method for infants' oral hygiene
C A B Cardoso1, N M Santos2, M L C Fracasso3
1Graduate Program in Dentistry, Cruzeiro do Sul University, Galvão Bueno Street, 868, Liberdade, São Paulo, 01506-000, SP, Brazil.
Insights
Plaque disclosure before brushing significantly improves early childhood oral hygiene. This method helps mothers achieve better results in cleaning their children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health
Background:
- Early childhood oral hygiene is crucial for preventing dental caries.
- Mothers play a key role in maintaining their children's oral health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of plaque disclosure as an auxiliary method for improving early childhood oral hygiene.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 20 mothers and children (6-36 months) compared conventional brushing with brushing after plaque disclosure.
- Plaque levels were assessed using the Green Vermilion and plaque thickness indices.
- A crossover design was used, with participants switching methods after one month.
Main Results:
- The group using plaque disclosure showed significantly lower plaque indices on smooth and occlusal surfaces.
- Overall mean plaque scores were lower in the plaque disclosure group across all visits.
Conclusions:
- Dental plaque disclosure is an effective auxiliary method for enhancing early childhood oral hygiene.
- This technique empowers mothers to improve their children's dental cleaning effectiveness.
Aim:
This was to evaluate the effectiveness of plaque disclosure as an auxiliary method for early childhoods' oral hygiene.
Methods:
The study was performed with 20 mothers and their children (aged 6-36 months), members of a preventive programme, which two groups used one of two approaches: conventional oral hygiene/group I (tooth brushing) and plaque disclosure with subsequent oral hygiene/group II (tooth brushing with prior plaque disclosure). Ten mothers started the study in group I and the other 10 in group II, after one month interval they changed to be in the alternate group. Each group consisted of baseline and three additional visits at weekly intervals. The effectiveness of oral hygiene was assessed in a blind fashion by plaque quantity estimation, using the Green Vermilion index for smooth surfaces and the plaque thickness index for occlusal surfaces. Statistical comparisons were performed using repeated measures ANOVA/Fisher's post hoc test and paired t-test (p < 0.05).
Results:
For smooth and occlusal surfaces at first and second visits, group II recorded significantly lower plaque indices when compared with group I. Additionally, when considering the mean dental plaque index of all visits, group II also presented lower plaque scores than group I.
Conclusion:
Dental plaque disclosure before toothbrushing helps mothers to enhance the effectiveness of early childhood oral hygiene.
Registration Number And Name Of Trial Registry:
RBR-7fyc7g; Avaliação do Treinamento e de Métodos Auxiliares na Efetividade da Escovação Dentária Materna em Bebês. Where the full trial protocol can be accessed: http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov .