Randomised clinical study of plaque removal efficacy of a power toothbrush in a paediatric population

Background Clinical investigations of plaque removal efficacy of power toothbrushes in children are limited. Aim To compare plaque removal of a power versus manual toothbrush in a paediatric population. Design This was a randomised, replicate‐use, single‐brushing, examiner‐blinded, two‐treatment, four‐period crossover clinical trial in children 8–11 years of age. Subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment sequence involving an oscillating–rotating power toothbrush and a manual toothbrush control. Subjects brushed under supervision with a NaF dentifrice. Plaque was assessed pre‐ (baseline) and post‐brushing using the Turesky Modification of the Quigley‐Hein Plaque Index by two examiners. Plaque scores were averaged for mixed and permanent dentition on a per‐subject basis and analysed using a mixed‐model ancova for a crossover design. Results Forty‐one subjects (mean 9.0 years) were randomised and completed the trial. Both the power brush and manual brush provided statistically significant mean plaque reductions versus baseline in all analyses (P < 0.001). For both examiners, plaque removal was significantly (P < 0.001) larger for the power brush in permanent and mixed dentitions. The interexaminer correlations for the permanent dentition were strong (ICC = 0.68–0.88) for pre‐brushing plaque across all periods. Conclusions An oscillating–rotating power toothbrush provided superior plaque reduction versus a manual toothbrush in children.