Manual versus sonic powered toothbrushing in patients with intellectual disability: a cluster-randomized clinical trial

Objectives To compare the use of sonic powered or manual toothbrush in patients with intellectual disability (ID) in terms of plaque (PlI) and gingival (GI) indices and adverse effects. Material and Methods Subjects with ID were recruited for this cluster‐randomized, single blinded (examiner), 6‐month clinical trial, comparing powered versus manual toothbrushing. Outcome variables included PlI and GI, evaluated at baseline and 3 months after supervised toothbrushing and after 3 additional months of unsupervised used. Clinical outcome variables were analysed by repeated measures ANCOVA considering time and group as factors and respective baseline values as covariates (generalized linear model). Results Sixty‐four patients (34 male, mean age 34.5) in six clusters were included in the study. No statistically significant effect of toothbrushing group was observed for PlI or GI. A significant effect of time was identified (p