Affiliation:
1. Pediatric Dentistry Clinic, Oral Medicine Unit Sheba Medical Center Tel‐Hashomer Israel
2. College of Dentistry University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK Canada
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundEffective removal of dental plaque is essential factor for prevention of caries, gingival, and periodontal diseases in children and adults.AimTo evaluate factors associated with improving toothbrushing performance (TB‐P) among children.DesignAn observational cohort study analyzed all paediatric patients receiving regular examinations in a single dental clinic between 2009 and 2017 and regularly brushing their teeth with a triple‐headed toothbrush (TH‐TB). At every periodic follow‐up, the TB‐P of the child/parent was evaluated using the TB‐P Skill Index (TB‐PS‐I); that is, did the child reach all five teeth segments within each arch and did he/she perform 10 back‐and‐forth stocks in each segment. When not optimal, they received instructions for improving TB‐P and subsequently were asked to re‐demonstrate. TB‐PS‐I was calculated and analyzed for correlation with other explanatory variables.ResultsA total of 1737 children with 7399 follow‐up appointments were analyzed. Older age, female gender, higher number of follow‐up appointments, and compliance with twice‐daily toothbrushing significantly improved TB‐P. The most typical mistakes in their performance were not reaching the canine segments and not performing enough strokes in each segment. Instructions given after imperfect TB‐P significantly improved the TB‐P. The magnitude of improvement, however, did not correlate with the performers' age, gender, or the number of follow‐up visits.ConclusionsA significant percentage of children >8 years did not perform optimal toothbrushing even when using TH‐TB.