Drilling Deeper into Toothbrushing Skills: is Proactive Interference an Under-Recognized Factor in Oral Hygiene Behavior Change?

Thavarajah, Rooban; Kumar, Manish; Mohandoss, Anusa Arunachalam; Vernon, Lance T.

doi:10.1007/s40496-015-0053-z

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Regardless of the institutionalized oral health education, children's oral health behaviour essentially develops during the initial stages of development mainly in the family environment [ 45 , 46 ]. If the acquired tooth brushing habits at home contradict the measures of the prophylaxis programs, learning the contents taught in the programs is impeded [ 47 , 48 ]. The varying compliance to vertical movements on inner surfaces across the four age groups might be an indication of a relapse into old (or simpler) habits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tooth brushing performance in adolescents as compared to the best-practice demonstrated in group prophylaxis programs: an observational study

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Research indicates that adolescents may have difficulties to adopt the tooth brushing recommendations delivered in prophylaxis programs. However, it is not clear whether these difficulties are seen amongst the entire age range of adolescence (10–19 years) or only occur at certain developmental stages of the adolescence. The present study analyzes the tooth brushing performance of adolescents and compares it to the best-practice of tooth brushing demonstrated during prophylaxis programs. Methods A random sample of N = 66 adolescents, comprising 10-year-olds (n = 42) and 15-year-olds (n = 24), were asked to perform oral hygiene to the best of their abilities in front of a tablet camera. Videos were analyzed for tooth brushing duration, location, and brushing movements, and the difference between the actual and expected behaviour was tested for consistency using repeated measures ANOVAs and Student’s t-tests. For the direct comparison across different age groups, already available data from 12- and 18-year-olds were reanalysed. Results The average brushing time (mean ± SD) of the 10-year-olds and 15-year-olds was 195.8 s (74.6 s) and 196.1 s (75.8 s), respectively. Regardless of age, the adolescents distributed their brushing time unevenly across the inner, outer and occlusal surfaces. The inner surfaces in particular were neglected to a considerable extent, as no age group spent more than 15.8% of the total brushing time on them. Furthermore, all age groups showed a high proportion of horizontal movements on the inner and outer surfaces, regardless of the movements instructed for the respective surfaces. Conclusion Even if adolescents brush to the best of their abilities, they neglect or skip one or many of the tooth surfaces. The reasons for the lack of compliance to tooth brushing instructions are discussed in light of the methods used in prophylaxis programs and the influence of parents.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tooth brushing performance in adolescents as compared to the best-practice demonstrated in group prophylaxis programs: an observational study

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It may also be that success in some areas has to do with handedness and/or the arc of the arm and wrist. These fluctuations over time, after a one-time, brief intervention, may be consistent with proactive interference [12] and may imply that greater and ongoing feedback and/or cueing is necessary in future studies to focus participant’s attention to routinely and properly brush the lingual surfaces of teeth (or other “hot spots”). [19] …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in spite of one’s best efforts, a significant percentage of patient’s may relapse back into their old and improper TB habits. [11,12] Recently, researchers have speculated that proactive interference (when learning a new behavior is impeded by interference of knowledge and habits tied to an old behavior) may have an important influence in reverting to improper, old TB habits. [12] Adopting a more effective TB technique can be challenging; this is especially true when TB has been practiced for a number of years without proper supervision, guidance, and reinforcement.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[11,12] Recently, researchers have speculated that proactive interference (when learning a new behavior is impeded by interference of knowledge and habits tied to an old behavior) may have an important influence in reverting to improper, old TB habits. [12] Adopting a more effective TB technique can be challenging; this is especially true when TB has been practiced for a number of years without proper supervision, guidance, and reinforcement. On an individual level, for a proper TB skills to be adopted, there are a number of separate steps or components-for example, the process of memory formation, coding, retrieval, contextual cueing, association, “muscle memory”, addressing interferences besides sufficient motor skill, and one’s desire to change the old TB habit.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Using smartphone video “selfies” to monitor change in toothbrushing behavior after a brief intervention: A pilot study

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Attempts to refine toothbrushing (TB) technique, an ingrained habit in adults, can meet with some challenges. Recently, the role of proactive interference as a barrier to improving the learning of proper brushing has been proposed. This pilot feasibility study was designed to investigate TB behavior and to see how it changes after training. Smartphone video “selfies” (SPVSs) are increasingly being used in the medical field to assess, monitor, and determine the progression of diseases. Materials and Methods We used SPVS to study TB skills in a small sample of volunteers. Over a period of 14 days, after a one-time group training session, we observed TB behavior of volunteers using self-captured SPVS. Results Following the brief intervention, we observed an 8% of improvement in TB skills. Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report using SPVS to study TB behavior. We demonstrated initial feasibility of using SPVS in the dental setting. We observed modest improvements in toothbrushing accuracy and quality, and we generated important experiences about the use of Selfies for TB monitoring and intervention, and some interesting insights about where in the toothbrushing is more or less effective. Conclusion Further investigation using a larger sample size is needed to thoroughly assess the effectiveness of this approach to improve TB skills and better understand the role of proactive interference.

show abstract

“…For many, flossing (and even IBD use in posterior teeth) can be a challenging skill to properly master 16 , and therein lies another rub: are dentists and other oral health providers adequately trained to help their patients change their behavior? To our knowledge, this has not been well studied.…”

Section: A Health Theory-informed Approach To Promote Flossing and Idmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Defense of Flossing: Can We Agree It's Premature to Claim Flossing is Ineffective to Prevent Dental Caries?

Vernon

Seacat

2017

Journal of Evidence Based Dental Practice

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current evidence pertaining to the effectiveness of flossing and caries prevention is potentially being misinterpreted by health oversight bodies, which may have significant implications for current and future public flossing guidelines. We identify and discuss several methodological deficiencies including the lack of validated measures of flossing skill, over-reliance on self-reported flossing behavior and the lack of current guidelines on how to interpret and apply evidence-based findings to specific clinical scenarios that are present in the studies of flossing effectiveness included in the Cochran Review. As such, we argue that it is premature for health oversight bodies to conclude that flossing is ineffective in the prevention of dental caries. Our research group, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, is developing valid and reliable provider-observed measure of tooth brushing and flossing skill that may help promote higher quality flossing evidence in the future.

show abstract

Drilling Deeper into Toothbrushing Skills: is Proactive Interference an Under-Recognized Factor in Oral Hygiene Behavior Change?

Cited by 13 publications

References 38 publications

Tooth brushing performance in adolescents as compared to the best-practice demonstrated in group prophylaxis programs: an observational study

Tooth brushing performance in adolescents as compared to the best-practice demonstrated in group prophylaxis programs: an observational study

Using smartphone video “selfies” to monitor change in toothbrushing behavior after a brief intervention: A pilot study

In Defense of Flossing: Can We Agree It's Premature to Claim Flossing is Ineffective to Prevent Dental Caries?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About