Trial reportClinical oral investigations2018
Randomised controlled trial on differential learning of toothbrushing in 6- to 9-year-old children.
Trial report in Clinical oral investigations, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dental Biofilm-Induced Gingivitis in Children and Adolescents Without Known Systemic Involvement: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical periodontology · 2026Pooled it
- An Exploratory Meta-Analytic Review on the Empirical Evidence of Differential Learning as an Enhanced Motor Learning Method.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Tooth Brushing Learning Methods: Differential or Conventional? - A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Caries research · 2024Trial
- Cleansing efficacy of an oral irrigator with microburst technology in orthodontic patients-a randomized-controlled crossover study.Clinical oral investigations · 2023Trial
- Cleansing efficacy of an auto-cleaning toothbrushing device with nylon bristles: a randomized-controlled pilot study.Clinical oral investigations · 2023Trial
- Effect of Mozart's music on the learning of toothbrushing behavior in children with high and low dental anxiety levels.Clinical oral investigations · 2022Trial
- Efficacy of a sonic toothbrush on plaque removal-A video-controlled explorative clinical trial.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Cleansing efficacy of waist-shaped inter-dental brushes. A randomized-controlled crossover study.Journal of clinical periodontology · 2020Trial
- Tooth brushing learning methods: time to change practice?Evidence-based dentistry · 2025Article
- Differential shooting training in youth basketball players: an analysis of performance effects.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Manual Dexterity and Toothbrushing Efficiency in Preschool Children: A Crossover Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of the Relative Effect on Plaque Index among Pediatric Patients Using Powered (Electric) versus Manual Toothbrushes.Dentistry journal · 2023Review
- Learning Multiple Movements in Parallel-Accurately and in Random Order, or Each with Added Noise?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Always Pay Attention to Which Model of Motor Learning You Are Using.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Repetition without Repetition or Differential Learning of Multiple Techniques in Volleyball?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Deep learning-based dental plaque detection on primary teeth: a comparison with clinical assessments.BMC oral health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of differential learning of toothbrushing compared to habitual toothbrushing and instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing on plaque reduction and gingival inflammation of primary school children.
methodsChildren (6-9 years) were subjected to a toothbrushing training consisting of 15 days (3 × 5 days, interval 2 days, 3 min/day) and randomly assigned to one of three groups (each n = 18): habitual toothbrushing/control, instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing, differential learning of toothbrushing. The differential learning approach comprised 15 different movement exercises (1/day), while instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing was based on repetitive practice of toothbrushing. Plaque (Turesky-modified Quigley-Hein plaque index (T-QHI)) and papilla bleeding (papilla bleeding index (PBI)) scores were assessed prior to the first toothbrushing (t0, baseline) and 21 (t1), 42 (t2) and 63 (t3) days after beginning of the study. Primary statistical analyses were performed with cumulative logit regression models with repeated measures. The global significance level was set to 5% two-sided.
resultsAt all time points, PBI and T-QHI were significantly reduced by differential learning compared to instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing and habitual toothbrushing. Compared to baseline, differential learning improved PBI and T-QHI significantly at all time points. In the other groups, no significant reduction of PBI compared to baseline was observed. T-QHI was significantly reduced by habitual toothbrushing only at t1 and by instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing at t1 and t2. Differential learning had an improved effect on posterior compared to anterior teeth.
conclusionDifferential learning of toothbrushing improved plaque reduction and reduced gingival inflammation compared to habitual toothbrushing and instruction/demonstration of toothbrushing in 6- to 9-year-old children in mixed dentition. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Toothbrushing skills of children might be improved by differential learning.
trial registrationISRCTN14951343, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14951343?
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.