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Electric and Manual Toothbrushes in Nursing Homes

Effect of Electric Toothbrush on Oral Hygiene in Nursing Home Residents- a Randomized Clinical Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03298620
Enrollment
233
Registered
2017-10-02
Start date
2011-08-01
Completion date
2016-12-15
Last updated
2017-10-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Oral Health

Keywords

nursing home, gerodontology, oral hygiene

Brief summary

Effect of electric toothbrush on oral hygiene in nursing home residents tested I randomized clinical trial for 2 months and followed up 12 months after baseline

Detailed description

Patients in nursing homes often have many natural teeth with exposed root surfaces, bifurcations, a complexity of dental restorations like partial prostheses, bridges/crowns, fillings and implants. In addition they have a limited physical ability, like reduced muscular strength, rigidness in the neck and spine. All these factors contribute to make it difficult, both for themselves and their nursing staff to maintain good oral hygiene. Electrical toothbrushes have been proved effective in removal of dental plaque. There have also been reports from nursing homes that approves of electrical toothbrushes as a helpful aid among the nursing staff. The present study examine if the overall oral hygiene actually improves with the use of electric toothbrush. Material and method: The study is a randomized clinical trial (RCT) that includes patients from nursing homes in Oslo. The recording dentist is blind to the type of tooth brush Inclusion criteria. * Patients living in nursing home in Oslo * Provide written informed consent prior to enrolment (from relatives when patients were assessed by physician to be without ability to give written consent. Participants in the experimental group use an electrical toothbrush. Participants in the control group use a standard manual toothbrush. Registration of oral hygiene and plaque score at baseline 0 and after 2 months intervention. After the RCT trial the participants were free to choose toothbrush, electric or manual. The study includes a follow-up study 10 months after the end of the RCT trial. The study is a part of the PhD programme for Katrine Gahre Fjeld Cand. Odont. Supervisors: Tiril Willumsen Dr Odont, The Dental Faculty, University of Oslo Hilde Eide Dr. Philos, Department of Nursing, Buskerud University College Morten Mowe Dr med, The Medical Faculty, University of Oslo

Interventions

OTHERControl

Manual toothbrush

Sponsors

University of Oslo
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

A dental team (dentist and dental hygienist) assessed the outcome measure at baseline and after the two months RCT trial. A neutral dentist implements the intervention after baseline registration. Toothbrushes used in the intervention period is hidden to the dental team during assessments at the end of the RCT period.

Intervention model description

Randomized Clinical trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
70 Years to 105 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients living in nursing home in Oslo * Provide written informed consent prior to enrolment (from relatives when patients were assessed by physician to be without ability to give written consent.

Exclusion criteria

* Patients too weak to be examined * Patients With life expectancy less then one year

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in dental plaque score by use of the Oral Hygiene Index- simplified (OHI-S)baseline, after 2 months, after 12 monthsOHI-S is measuring amount of dental plaque using 6 indicator teeth. Outcome measure: change in OHI-S

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026