Plaque Reduction Efficacy of an Advanced Electric Toothbrush Compared with a Manual Toothbrush Among 6‐ to 10‐Year‐Old Children: Results From a 4‐Week Randomised Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: An advanced oscillating-rotating (OR) electric toothbrush was developed to help improve plaque control for paediatric patients. AIM: To assess plaque reduction efficacy of an advanced OR electric toothbrush compared with a manual toothbrush among children. DESIGN: This was a 4-week randomised, controlled, two-treatment, parallel-group, examiner-blind clinical study. Sixty children, 6-10 years of age, were randomly assigned to a test group: 1) Advanced OR electric toothbrush (Oral-B iO2 with Gentle Care brush head) or a control group: 2) Manual toothbrush (Paro Junior Soft). Both groups brushed twice daily with a fluoridated dentifrice. Plaque was assessed at baseline and 4 weeks using the Turesky modification of the Quigley-Hein Plaque Index. Data were analysed with ANCOVA. RESULTS: Sixty participants were enrolled (30/group); mean (SD) age 7.7 (±1.33) years. Fifty-eight children completed the trial. At week 4, the test group had 51% greater whole mouth plaque reduction compared with the control group (0.67 versus 0.44; p = 0.003). The test group also had statistically significantly greater plaque reductions (p ≤ 0.021) than the control group in lingual, buccal, approximal, and molar subregions, ranging from 42%-64% greater. CONCLUSION: The advanced OR electric toothbrush produced significantly greater plaque reductions compared with a manual toothbrush among a paediatric population.