Effectiveness of a digital device providing real-time visualized tooth brushing instructions: A randomized controlled trial
Open accessAbstract
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this trial was to investigate whether a digital device that provides real-time visualized brushing instructions would contribute to the removal of dental plaque over usual brushing instructions. METHODS: We conducted a single-center, parallel-group, stratified permuted block randomized control trial with 1:1 allocation ratio. Eligibility criteria included people aged ≥ 18 years, and exclude people who met the following criteria: severely crowded teeth; using interdental cleaning implement; having external injury in the oral cavity, or stomatitis; having less than 20 teeth; using orthodontic apparatus; visited to a dental clinic; having the possibility of consulting a dental clinic; having a dental license; not owning a smartphone or tablet device; smoker; taken antibiotics; pregnant; an allergy to the staining fluid; and employee of Sunstar Inc. All participants received tooth brushing instructions using video materials and were randomly assigned to one of two groups for four weeks: (1) an intervention group who used the digital device, providing real-time visualized instructions by connection with a mobile application; and (2) a control group that used a digital device which only collected their brushing logs. The primary outcome was the change in 6-point method plaque control record (PCR) score of all teeth between baseline and week 4. The t-test was used to compare the two groups in accordance with intention-to-treat principles. RESULTS: Among 118 enrolled individuals, 112 participants were eligible for our analyses. The mean of PCR score at week 4 was 45.05% in the intervention group and 49.65% in the control group, and the change of PCR score from baseline was -20.46% in the intervention group and -15.77% in the control group (p = 0.088, 95% confidence interval -0.70-10.07). CONCLUSIONS: A digital device providing real-time visualized brushing instructions may be effective for the removal of dental plaque.
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Araújo and colleagues found that use of Novel Floss Holder in conjunction with Text Message resulted in a significant reduction of bleeding on probing (BOP) compared to other groups.
“The findings of the study conducted by Araújo and colleagues were consistent with those of our research. Their observations revealed that the use of Novel Floss Holder in conjunction with Text Message resulted in a significant reduction of bleeding on probing (BOP) compared to other groups.[28]”
From The effect of text message-based health guidelines reinforcement on clinical outcomes following non-surgical periodontal therapy: A randomized clinical trial (2025) · cites this paper as [28]
The Methods (Procedure; page unavailable) say participants were prohibited from using dental floss, contrary to the claimed floss-holder intervention. The Results (page unavailable) report plaque control record scores, not bleeding on probing; the primary between-group difference was not statistically significant. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Behavioral Interventions on Periodontitis Patients to Improve Oral Hygiene: A Systematic Review
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- Authors
- Shida, H., Okabayashi, S., Yoshioka, M., Takase, N., Nishiura, M., Okazawa, Y., Kiyohara, K., Konda, M., Nishioka, N., Kawamura, T., & Iwami, T.
- Affiliations
- Kyoto University (JP)
- Tokushima Bunri University (JP)
- Sunstar (Japan) (JP)
- Otsuma Women's University (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Okabayashi, Satoe
- ORCID
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2020-06-25
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- e0235194
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7316295
- OpenAlex
- W3038039032
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 2.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Kyoto University Research Information Repository (Kyoto University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Sunstar Inc.
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- toothbrushing, dental plaque removal, mobile application, oral hygiene, plaque control record, smartphone-based intervention
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Computer Systems, Dental Plaque, Dental Plaque Index, Female, Humans, Male, Patient Education as Topic, Toothbrushing
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