Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether twice-daily use of a rotating-oscillating power toothbrush (Oral-B Professional Care 1000™ ) in nursing home (NH) residents over a 6-week period, compared to usual care (UC), would reduce periodontal inflammation.
Methods: In this repeated measures single-blinded randomized controlled trial, 59 residents of one NH in Winnipeg, Canada, were randomized to receive either twice-daily tooth brushing with a rotating-oscillating power toothbrush (PB) or UC by caregivers. Consent was obtained from residents or their proxies. Participants had some natural teeth, periodontal inflammation, non-aggressive behaviour, no communicable diseases, were non-smokers and non-comatose. Outcomes were measured at baseline and 6 weeks, which included: inflammation (MGI, Lobene), bleeding (PBI, Loesche) and Plaque (Turesky). Comparisons of group changes in outcomes were analysed using an ANOVA with a repeated measure.
Results: Of 59 original study participants, one withdrew, one died prior to study commencement and three died before study completion. All oral parameters improved significantly for the remaining 54 residents over time (P<.0001), with no differences between groups.
Conclusions: These results demonstrate that it is possible for caregivers to improve periodontal inflammation of residents over a 6-week period. Despite no significant group differences, periodontal inflammation of all study participants improved significantly, particularly in the reduction of bleeding, a direct measure of periodontal inflammation, which is a unique finding.
Keywords: nursing homes; periodontal inflammation; power toothbrushing; randomized controlled trial.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.