Computer-Based Oral Hygiene Instruction versus Verbal Method in Fixed Orthodontic Patients

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Fixed orthodontic appliances in the oral cavity make tooth cleaning procedures more complicated. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to compare the efficacy of computerized oral hygiene instruction with verbal technique among fixed orthodontic patients referred to the evening clinic of Orthodontics of Shiraz Dental School. MATERIALS AND METHODS A single-blind study was performed in Orthodontic Department of Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran, from January to May 2015 following the demonstrated exclusion and inclusion criteria. The sample size was considered 60 patients with 30 subjects in each group. Bleeding on probing and plaque indices and dental knowledge were assessed in the subjects to determine pre-intervention status. A questionnaire was designed for dental knowledge evaluation. The patients were randomly assigned into the computerized and verbal groups. Three weeks after the oral hygiene instruction, indices of bleeding on probing and plaque index and the dental knowledge were evaluated to investigate post-intervention outcome. The two groups were compared by chi-square and student t tests. The pre- and post-intervention scores in each group were compared using paired t-test. RESULTS In the computerized group, the mean score for plaque index and bleeding on probing index was significantly decreased while dental health knowledge was significantly increased after oral hygiene instruction, in contrast to the verbal group. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of the current study, computerized oral hygiene instruction is proposed to be more effective in providing optimal oral health status compared to the conventional method in fixed orthodontic patients.