Comparative evaluation of the effectiveness in dental plaque removal between a conventional toothbrush and an alternative one

Abstract

Bacterial plaque which ac- cumulates daily in teeth is the major factor for the development of carious and peGráfico 9. Média comparativa inicial e final do índice de placa (PHP modificado) riodontal diseases. Regular daily use of toothbrush is essential for prevention of such diseases. Oral hygene must be encouraged since the early ages in order to become a daily habit. A significant part of Brazil- ian children still have no access to educational-preventive oral health programs. Also, the low purchasing power makes difficult the acquisition of dental hygene material. Keeping that in mind, the present study aims to compare efficacy in the plaque removal be- tween a conventional toothbrush and an alternative one made of vegetal fiber and a wooden stick. Sixteen subjects ranging from 0 to 6 years old were selected among children under governmental in- stitution care. Each toothbrush was used by each child for a period of 3 months. Supervised brushing was conducted on a weekly basis in order to reveal plaque develop- ment and index (PhP Index). The results were statistically evalu- ated through the Kruskal - Wallis One Way Test (P = < 0.0001) for comparison between the groups which proved the efficacy of the alternative toothbrush in plaque removal when compared with the conventional one. Key words: dental caries, prevention, toothbrush, dental plaque.