Do really parents brush their children's teeth better?

Plaque removal from first permanent molar teeth was evaluated when conventional and a new silicone tooth and gum brush was used. Also, the effectiveness of parents' brushing was compared with childrens'.

Study design: This crossover clinical study was conducted with 9 children aged 5 to 7 years, with 18 mandibular first permanent molar teeth which were partially erupted. Four appointments were planned at one-week intervals and at every appointment, dental plaque on teeth was disclosed first. At their first appointment, the children were given a conventional toothbrush, and at their second appointment they were given a silicone tooth andgum brush . Then, at the third appointment, parents performed brushing with a conventional toothbrush, and then brushed with a silicone tooth & gum brush at the fourth appointment. Before and after brushing, photographs were taken for baseline and final plaque scores to determine Occlusal Plaque Index with Image Analysis Software Program.

Anova was used for comparison of groups with p<0.05 considered to be significant.

There was statistically significant difference between baseline and final plaque scores among all of the groups (p<0.05) but, there was not statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0.05).

Children under the age of nine are usually believed to lack the developmental skills needed to brush their own teeth, and as a result, the silicone tooth & gum brush might be recommended instead of brushing with parents.