COMPARATIVE CLINICAL EVALUATION OF THE DENTAL PLAQUE REMOVING ABILITY OF CHEWABLE TOOTH BRUSH VS MANUAL TOOTH BRUSH IN MIXED DENTITION PERIOD CHILDREN

PURPOSE : Dental plaque is considered to be one of the etiological factors in causation of dental caries, gingivitis and periodontitis.Efficient plaque control is essential for maintaining good gingival and periodontal health, prevention of dental caries and to preserve the oral health. AIM : The aim of the present study is to compare the ability of dental plaque removal of chewable brush with manual tooth brush. MATERIALSAND METHODS : A total of 60 students were selected from the same school in mixed dentition period and divided in to 2 groups, Group I: Manual tooth brush and Group II: Chewable tooth brush, 30 students in each group. Dental examination was carried out to check Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S), and Plaque index score by Turesky modification of the Quigley Hein Plaque Index (TMQHPI) for amount of plaque and SilnessLoe Plaque Index (SLPI) for plaque thickness, preoperative and 7 days post operative scores was obtained, data’s were statistically analyzed using Mann Whitney U test and Paired students ‘t’ test. RESULTS : The mean plaque reduction was found to be statistically significant(p 0.05), means that both were equally effective. CONCLUSION: Chewable brush was found to be as effective as a manual brush in removing plaque. We can suggest that chewable brush may be an appropriate oral hygiene adjunct for children, including children with reduced manual dexterity.