Comparison of two electric toothbrushes: evaluation on orthodontic patients.

Background: The effectiveness of different types of electric toothbrushes in terms of removing bacterial plaque is still a debated issue. The aim of the study was to compare the plaque removal after a single use of two types of electric toothbrushes, sonic and roto-oscillating, in patients with fixed orthodontics.

Methods: Twenty-five subjects with fixed multibrackets appliances were randomly selected. Plaque scores were detected using a fluorescein-based detector. After using the sonic toothbrush with a surfactant-free toothpaste, the plaque scores were detected again. After 3 months, the procedure is performed again following the same methods, using the roto-oscillating toothbrush. For the statistical analysis a Student's t-test using Microsoft Excel 2021 (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA) was performed. The differences were considered statistically significant for probability values P<0.05.

Results: It can be seen that the brushing carried out with a sonic technology is more effective than the roto-oscillating technology. However, the FMPS, MOPI and OPI indexes do not show differences between the use of the two toothbrushes. The OHI-S index shows a statistically significant difference using the sonic toothbrush with a significance level of 0.05%.

Conclusions: It can be said that both electric toothbrushes are effective for maintaining a good home oral hygiene in patients with fixed orthodontics.