A systematic review of the effects of supervised toothbrushing on caries incidence in children and adolescents

Abstract

Background The anticaries effect of supervised toothbrushing, irrespective of the effect of fluoride toothpaste, has not been clearly determined yet. Aim To assess the effects of supervised toothbrushing on caries incidence in children and adolescents. Design A systematic review of controlled trials was performed (CRD42014013879). Electronic and hand searches retrieved 2046 records, 112 of which were read in full and independently assessed by two reviewers, who collected data regarding characteristics of participants, interventions, outcomes, length of follow‐up and risk of bias. Results Four trials were included and none of them had low risk of bias. They were all carried out in schools, but there was great variation regarding children's age, fluoride content of the toothpaste, baseline caries levels and the way caries incidence was reported. Among the four trials, two found statistically significant differences favouring supervised toothbrushing, but information about the magnitude and/or the precision of the effect estimate was lacking and in one trial clustering effect was not taken into consideration. No meta‐analysis was performed due to the clinical heterogeneity among the included studies and differences in the reporting of data. Conclusions There is no conclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of supervised toothbrushing on caries incidence.

Correlation between Oral Hygiene and IL-6 in Children

“…Many authors have shown that plaque accumulation is the primary cause of marginal periodontal inflammation [18][19][20][21]. Toothbrushing frequency has also a correlation with Decayed Missed Filled Tooth Index (DMFT), resulting in a lower susceptibility to dental caries development [22][23][24][25][26].…”

The Impact of Policy Modifiable Factors on Inequalities in Rates of Child Dental Caries in Australia

“…In particular, one study showed a dose-response relationship between the prevalence of caries and brushing frequency in children [55]. Other studies which have looked at the overall effect of school-based tooth-bushing programs on caries experience have shown mixed results [57,58]. Associations between dental caries and other oral health promotion factors were not evident in our study but could be due to the use of self-reported data which has its limitations (see Section 4.4).…”

“Cárie é transmissível?” Tipo de informação sobre transmissão da cárie em crianças encontrada através da ferramenta de busca Google®.

“…16,17 Entretanto, não há evidências que métodos que diminuiriam a transmissibilidade de micro-organismos orais entre cuidadores e crianças, sejam efetivos no controle da cárie em crianças. 18 A internet pode ser um instrumento poderoso para divulgação dessas recomendações.…”