Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Study on improving oral hygiene in a group of 12-year-old children after a toothbrushing training programme

Cristina Nuca, Corneliu Amariei, Daniela-Laura Rusu, Camelia Comsa

Toothbrushing is the most widespread mechanical means of personal plaque control. Unfortunately,
removal plaque from all tooth surfaces is a difficult and time-consuming activity, and relatively few people,
especially children, are sufficiently motivated and instructed to effectively clean their teeth [4, 5].
For this reason the aim of this study is the evaluation of oral hygiene in a group of 23 children aged
between 12 and 13 years, before and after their instruction in a professional training programme on
toothbrushing.
The level of oral hygiene was appreciated by the API (Approximal Plaque Index), after disclosure of the
dental plaque by using erythrosine tablets [2]. The training programme included information concerning
the importance of tooth cleaning and instruction in Bass toothbrushing technique. After instruction
sessions, held weekly for four weeks, the final examination was done three months from the end of this
period.
The results show that the API index decreased from 59.05 percent at baseline to 37.82 in the final examination.
As a conclusion we can say that self-diagnosis and a more efficient motivation of oral hygiene given by
a well-conducted professional training programme may improve the quality of plaque control, with
many benefits for the individual oral health.