Comparison of different tooth brushing methods efficacy with normal tooth brushing technique for plaque removal among students of Tehran university of medical sciences in 2020

The most effective way to maintain and improve oral health is tooth brushing to physically remove dental plaque. In this regard, this study was conducted to compare the efficiency of the usual method of each person in comparison with different methods of brushing to remove dental plaque.

This study was conducted in 2020, as a randomized and open clinical trial with 72 non-dental male and female students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. In this study, the usual method of tooth brushing with Modified Bass and Scrub Horizontal methods after training was evaluated in two random groups with plaque and gingival indices. Plaque index as a percentage and gingival index as a number (numbers between 0-1 mild inflammation, 1.1-2 moderate inflammation, 2-3 severe inflammation) were reported. The results were analyzed using SPSS25 software and paired t-test and variance equality test.

The efficiency of the usual tooth brushing method in comparison with the two Modified Bass and Scrub Horizontal methods using two indicators of dental plaque and gingival indices was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Each method alone after tooth brushing significantly removed dental plaque (P<0.05).

The results of this study showed that the efficiency of the usual method of tooth brushing compared to trained methods in removing dental plaque and reducing gingivitis in short-term evaluation was not statistically significant.