A COMPARISON OF PLAQUE REMOVAL EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ELECTRIC VERSUS A MANUAL TOOTHBRUSH IN CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to test the plaque-removing efficacy of an electric brush (Philips HP550) in comparison with a manual brush (B utler Gum 111) in five-to ten-year-old uninstructed children. The samp le included twenty-three children who were divided into two groups, ea ch group brushing for four weeks with the assigned brush at home. Afte r this period children were asked to brush for two minutes in a dental clinic. Plaque was scored according to the Turesky modified Quigley a nd Hein Index before and after brushing. Analysis shows that plaque re duction with the electric brush is significantly better than with the manual brush: 46 percent versus 25 percent reduction, respectively. Re sults are most marked for the lingual posterior areas. Results further indicate that using an electric brush, plaque is reduced more evenly over the dentition. Participants without previous experience with powe red toothbrushes showed no problem in adapting to the electric brush.