Knowledge of undergraduates in dentistry about tooth brushing techniques

AIM: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether undergraduates in dentistry identify correctly the Bass, Scrub, Modified Stillman, Chartes, Roll and Fones brushing techniques, as well as determine which techniques are more properly identified and which have a lower rate of recognition. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample consisted of undergraduates of the 9th and 10th periods over the year of 2010/02 and the 9th period of the 2011/01 year of the Dentistry course of Higher Education Institution (HEI), who answered a questionnaire on a sequence of videos about tooth brushing. The collected data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet and subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: When evaluating all the techniques, the number of all hits had a percentage 61%, before a frequency of 39% errors. CONCLUSION: Even with the higher percentage of accuracy that the error, it is possible conclude that there is a need for strengthening the control and evaluation functions on recognition of tooth brushing techniques by dentistry undergraduate students of the HEI.