ABSTRACT
Background: Children <5 years of age need parental assistance with tooth brushing. Purpose: The aim is to compare the efficacy of manual and powered toothbrushes for plaque removal when used by parents to brush their children's teeth. Methods: This randomized, four-period, two-treatment, examiner-blinded, crossover clinical trial comprised children aged 3–5 years. Tooth brushing was performed by the parent using a manual or powered toothbrush. Pre- and post-brushing plaque assessments were performed using the Turesky Modified Quigley-Hein Plaque Index. Differences in plaque scores were calculated using the paired t-test. Results: A significant difference (P < 0.001) in the reduction of the plaque score was observed between the manual and powered tooth brushing groups. Conclusion: Powered toothbrushes performed significantly better than manual toothbrushes in terms of plaque removal when used by parents to brush their child's teeth.