Do really parents brush their children's teeth better?

Abstract

Aim Plaque removal from first permanent molar teeth was evaluated when conventional and a new silicone tooth and gum brush was used. Also, the effectiveness of parents' brushing was compared with childrens'.

Materials and methods Study design: This crossover clinical study was conducted with 9 children aged 5 to 7 years, with 18 mandibular first permanent molar teeth which were partially erupted. Four appointments were planned at one-week intervals and at every appointment, dental plaque on teeth was disclosed first. At their first appointment, the children were given a conventional toothbrush, and at their second appointment they were given a silicone tooth & gum brush . Then, at the third appointment, parents performed brushing with a conventional toothbrush, and then brushed with a silicone tooth & gum brush at the fourth appointment. Before and after brushing, photographs were taken for baseline and final plaque scores to determine Occlusal Plaque Index with Image Analysis Software Program. Statistics: Anova was used for comparison of groups with p <0.05 considered to be significant.

Results There was statistically significant difference between baseline and final plaque scores among all of the groups (p<0.05) but, there was not statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0.05).

Conclusions Children under the age of nine are usually believed to lack the developmental skills needed to brush their own teeth, and as a result, the silicone tooth & gum brush might be recommended instead of brushing with parents.