Plaque Removal Efficacy of Two Types of Toothbrush in Patients Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment with Fixed Appliance - A Comparative Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether orthodontic toothbrushes were superior to classical toothbrushes in the elimination of microbial dental plaque on teeth and brackets and in the maintenance of periodontal tissue health in patients, aged 15 to 25 years, with fixed orthodontic appliances. Forty patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances and brushing with the Bass technique were included in the study. Twenty patients used the Orthodontic toothbrushes, whereas the remaining twenty patients used the conventional manual toothbrushes. Plaque Index (Turesky-Gilmore-Glickman) and Gingival Index (Loe H and Silness P) were recorded for all the subjects. Records were taken at the beginning of the study and at 1 month and 2 months after fixed orthodontic appliance was bonded. No statistically significant difference was found for Plaque Index and Gingival Index between Orthodontic toothbrush group and conventional manual toothbrush group when measurements were compared. This short-term study concluded that the Orthodontic toothbrush is not superior to the conventional manual toothbrush.