Efficacy of occlusal plaque removal in erupting molars: a comparison of an electric toothbrush and the cross-toothbrushing technique.

The aim of this prospective crossover study was to compare the efficacy of two methods of plaque removal on partially erupted occlusal surfaces, which comprise about 80% of the sites affected by caries in schoolchildren. After a baseline examination, 16 children (aged 5-7 years) and their parents were instructed in cleaning the occlusal surface of an erupting molar either with an electric toothbrush or with a manual toothbrush in the cross-brushing technique. After 2 weeks, the proportion of the occlusal surface covered by plaque was measured again using the occlusal plaque index, a new, highly reproducible method (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.90). For the next 2 weeks, they used the other technique. In the multifactorial variance analysis, the individual child and parents were the most important factor for the amount of plaque present. Secondly, both methods resulted in about 50% less plaque on occlusal surfaces compared to baseline (29.2%) with a slightly but significantly smaller mean value for the electric toothbrush (14.7%, manual cross-brushing technique 16.7%; p = 0.025).