Oral health interventions in children and adolescents with special needs

Down Syndrome

Carly Ross takes a look at this review of different oral health education and promotion interventions for children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Eighteen studies were included but they mainly of very low to low certainty.

[read the full story...]

Powered toothbrushes for patients undergoing fixed orthodontic appliance treatment?

iStock_000002551343XSmall colourful braces on teeth

This review of the effect of powered and manual toothbrushes on oral health during fixed applinace orthodontic treatment included 7 RCTs. The findings suggest no diference between the toothbrush types. However the quality of the evidence is low and the studies are of short duration.

[read the full story...]

Interdental cleaning aids

Interdental_brush

This network meta-analysis of the comparative efficacy of interproximal oral hygiene aids included 22 RCTs and suggests that interdental brushes and water-jets ranked highest for the reduction of gingival bleeding. Although the quality of the available evidence is limited.

[read the full story...]

Powered toothbrushes for orthodontic patients

shutterstock_274582559

This review of powered toothbrushes for periodontal health in orthodontic patients included 9 small RCTs. A small statistically significant benefit was noted in short term use.

[read the full story...]

Toothbrushing: Are three heads better than one?

shutterstock_62658913

This review of the effectiveness of 3-headed toothbrushes included 15 studies describing 18 comparisons. The quality of the available evidence was low an no differences were seen with self-performed brushing but a benefit was suggested for plaque removal for care-dependent individuals.

[read the full story...]

Toothbrushing, plaque removal and gingivitis

shutterstock_274582559

The aim of this review was to appraise and summarise systematic reviews of the efficacy and safety of available homecare toothbrush regimens for mechanical plaque removal on plaque and gingivitis in adults. Ten systematic reviews were included confirming that toothbrushing is effective in reducing levels of dental plaque.

[read the full story...]

Toothbrushing: little data on association with gingival recession

shutterstock_265580381

This review considered the association between toothbrushing and gingival recession and non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs). 19 studies were included a majority (13) were cross-sectional and they provide limited data to support or refute the associations.

[read the full story...]

Powered toothbrushes reduced plaque and gingivitis more than manual toothbrushes

shutterstock_2345735-powered toothbrush

Tooth decay and gum disease are two of the commonest, but preventable diseases known to man. Regular and effective toothbrushing play an important role in the prevention of these diseases. Powered toothbrushes (PTBs) have been available since the 1960s and the question of whether they are better than manual toothbrushes (MTBs) has been with us [read the full story…]

Trial showed similar oral health improvements in nursing-home residents with manual and powered toothbrushes

shutterstock_2345735-powered toothbrush

The 2010 Cochrane review of powered toothbrushes (Deacon et al) provided some evidence that rotational oscillation powered toothbrushes are more effective than other designs. However, the available evidence was based on short-term studies and the differences were small, so the clinical importance was unclear.  The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of [read the full story…]

Type of manual toothbrush and duration of brushing may influence the amount of plaque removed

shutterstock_49682539

In Europe the first mass produced bristle toothbrushes came into use in the 18th Century. Although hog bristle brushes were reported in China during the Tang Dynasty (619-907). Today nylon toothbrushes are in widespread use and manual brushes come in a wide range of brush head sizes with  multiple tufts often angled in different directions. [read the full story…]