The effect of supervised oral hygiene on the gingivae of children

Abstract

The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether careful training in tooth‐brushing had a prolonged effect on the oral hygiene and gingivae of 13‐14 year‐old school‐children. Supervised tooth‐brushing had continued for three years and ended one year before the final gingival and plaque scorings were carried out. A group of children of similar age and from the same school served as controls. The children of the control group had not been subjected to any form of supervised or controlled oral hygiene procedures. The gingival state and oral hygiene were recorded according to index systems proposed by Löe and Silness (1963) and Silness and Löe (1964). The examinations revealed that: During the years of supervised tooth‐brushing, the experimental group had a significantly lower Gingival Index than the control group (GI experimental group 1965: 0.22, 1966: 0.24; GI control group 1965: 0.78, 1966: 0.95). One year after the end of the supervision, the Gingival Index of the experimental group was 0.47. The corresponding index for the control group was 0.66. This difference is not statistically significant. The deterioration of the gingival condition in the experimental group and the improvement in the control group can be explained by the poorer oral hygiene in the experimental group and the improved hygiene in the control group. The fact that the careful training in tooth‐brushing had no prolonged effect on the gingivae indicates that this scheme failed to make the participating children tooth‐minded. Possible reasons for the lack of effectiveness are discussed and improvements suggested.