Manual and Powered Toothbrushing Effectiveness on Autistic Children's Oral Hygiene Status

Autistic children want a lot of help cleaning their teeth and they have a higher risk of periodontal disorder and less caries than the general public. The study's purpose is to see how helpful manual and powered toothbrushing are for autistic kids aged 6-12 years.

A total of 40 autistic children aged 6-12 years were chosen at random from Mangalore city schools. The simplified oral hygiene index was used to determine the baseline oral health (OHI-S). Children were split into two classes during an oral review. Children in Group 1 received a manual toothbrush, and those in Group 2 received a powered toothbrush. Many of the children were given Colgate fluoride-free toothpaste. Under the guidance of care professionals, children were taught to brush for 3 min. They were taught to count from 1 to 20 when brushing each buccal and lingual section. The index was rechecked at the conclusion of the 1^st month (30^th day) and the next month (3^rd month) (90^th day). On the 60^th day, the recently learned techniques were reinforced (end of the 2^nd month).

In Group 1, a statistically significant reduction in mean OHI-S scores was observed in baseline versus 30 days and baseline versus 90 days, while in Group 2, a statistically highly significant reduction in baseline versus 30 days, baseline versus 90 days, and 30 days versus 90 days was observed.

Furthermore, in autism children, powered teeth brushing shows potential. Long-term follow-up and greater sample size are, however, needed.