The Effectiveness of the Use of "Special Grip Toothbrushes" on Dental Hygiene for Indonesian Patients with Ischemic Stroke

ABSTRACT

Objective: To find out the effectiveness of specially made brushes with special grips for use by groups of ischemic stroke sufferers for oral hygiene. Material and Methods: A sample of 30 stroke patients were taken at the Makassar Stroke Center, Indonesia, with criteria for extreme hemisphere ischemic stroke patients and willing to participate in the study and fill out informed consent. Brush making with a special grip design (modified brush) with Clay mixed material. The oral hygiene assessment procedure of the sample using a modified toothbrush was done in 3 stages before the brush, after brush and on the seventh day. Oral and oral hygiene was measured using the index of Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S). The oral hygiene assessment procedure was done in 3 stages before the brush, after brush and on the seventh day. To find out the difference in effectiveness before and after the intervention was analyzed using the paired t test. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: The highest percentage of stroke patients were female (53.3%), aged 40-60 years (66.7%) with an education level below junior high school (56.7%). There is a difference in the average OHIS score before and after using a special grip toothbrush (p<0.01). Conclusion: A special grip toothbrush that is used for Stroke sufferers can help to clean his teeth and mouth.