Effect of the Electrical Versus Manual Tooth Brush on Oral Hygiene Indices in Patients Treated with Fixed Orthodontic Appliances

For preventing plaque accumulation side effects oral hygiene performance by patients especially adolescents who are the main part of orthodontic patients is necessary. Considering several studies indicating the efficacy of electric toothbrush usage on periodontal health the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of electric toothbrush on oral hygiene indices in patients treated with fixed orthodontic appliances. In this clinical trial study 40 orthodontic patients (aged 12 to 20 years old) wearing upper and lower fixed appliances for at least 6 months who had a history of at least two time inappropriate oral hygiene were selected. Control group patients used two kind of orthodontic manual toothbrushes of Oral-B and Colgate total toothpaste for 4 weeks. Case group patients used electric toothbrush (Cross Action Power) of Oral-B and Colgate total toothpaste for 4 weeks. At baseline and after 4 weeks ortho-plaque index (OPl) and bleeding points index (BPI) were measured. The data were analyzed by paired t-test independent t-test and Chi-square test. After intervention in control group OPI reduced by 19.9% and in case group it had 13.2% reduction. BPI was reduced in case and control groups by 8.5% and 20% respectively. In contrast to BPI (P=0.003) t-test showed that there were no significant differences between two groups in OPI reduction (P=0.11). The result of our study showed that electric toothbrush had no significant advantage over manual toothbrush. Manual brushing was even more effective than cross action power tooth brush in BPI reduction.