SynthesisOral health & preventive dentistry2020
Effectiveness of Manual Toothbrushing Techniques on Plaque and Gingivitis: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Oral health & preventive dentistry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Caries prevention in permanent teeth - basic recommendations of the German S 3 guideline.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Guideline
- Plaque scores after 1 or 2 minutes of toothbrushing A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of dental hygiene · 2025Pooled it
- Manual toothbrushing techniques for plaque removal and the prevention of gingivitis-A systematic review with network meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Evaluation of a novel dual-headed toothbrush design for periodontal health: split- mouth randomized blind clinical trial.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Trial
- Clinical efficacy and patient-reported outcomes of coconut oil as adjunctive periodontitis treatment: triple-blinded pilot randomized trial.BMC oral health · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of virtual reality-based toothbrushing instruction on oral health outcomes: A randomized controlled trial.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Trial
- Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial efficacy of coconut oil for periodontal pathogens: a triple-blind randomized clinical trial.Clinical oral investigations · 2025Trial
- Evaluation of leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin as an antibiotic slow-release biological device in the treatment of moderate periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial.BMC oral health · 2024Trial
- Age-stratified associations of oral hygiene care with dental caries and periodontitis: cross-sectional analysis of seventh Korea national health and nutrition examination survey.Clinical oral investigations · 2026Article
- Advice and Information About Toothbrushing as Available on Websites of Professional Dental Care Associations.International journal of dental hygiene · 2026Article
- Oral Hygiene Behaviors and Their Association with Angle Malocclusion Classes in Children Aged 6-9 Years: A WHO Questionnaire-Based Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Journey of Oral Hygiene: The Past, the Present, the Future.Journal of periodontal research · 2026Article
- Comparative assessment of three brushing techniques among in India.Bioinformation · 2026Article
- Exploring the Role of Novel Colour-Changing Toothpaste as an Aid for Improving Children's Oral Hygiene Behaviour: An In Vivo Study.International journal of dentistry · 2026Article
- Optimizing oral hygiene for children and adolescents with Down syndrome: a scoping review.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2025Article
- Interplay Between the In-Vitro Cleaning Performance and Wear of Manual Toothbrushes in Fixed Orthodontic Appliances.Oral health & preventive dentistry · 2024Article
- Effectiveness of a Combined Toothbrushing Technique on Cariogenic Dental Biofilm in Relation to Stainless Steel and Elastomeric Ligatures in Orthodontic Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Periodontal pathogens of the interdental microbiota in a 3 months pregnant population with an intact periodontium.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- Next preventive strategies for oral health: evolution or revolution?Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Toothbrushing effects on the surface roughness and cement volume loss of bonded enamel-ceramic interface.Brazilian dental journal · 2023Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeCurrently, there is no consensus on recommendations for manual toothbrushing techniques between dentists, oral health therapists and dental companies. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and assess the quality of evidence of the effectiveness of manual toothbrushing techniques in the existing literature.
methodsA broad search was conducted on the electronic databases Medline via Ovid, PubMed and EBSCO Dentistry & Oral Sciences. Included studies examined manual toothbrushing technique efficiency. Articles were assessed utilising the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. These included five randomised controlled trials (RCT), seven experimental non-randomised control studies and one in vitro study.
resultsOf the 3190 articles identified, 40 were relevant to manual toothbrushing and 13 were included in the final review. Studies indicating statistically significantly superior plaque removal for a given technique were Bass (one), modified Bass (one), Charter's (two), Fones (two), scrub (two), roll (one), modified Stillman (one), toothpick method (one). Four studies exhibited no statistically significant difference in effectiveness of plaque removal. Unfortunately, considerable variation was found between studies, making a definitive conclusion impossible in terms of an ideal manual toothbrushing technique that would promote plaque removal and reduce gingivitis.
conclusionThere is still insufficient evidence for suggesting that one toothbrushing method is more effective than another in plaque removal and reduction of gingivitis. Excessive variability in many aspects of the design and methodology of the selected studies hinder conclusions on an ideal manual toothbrushing technique. Experimental randomised controlled trials that follow the CONSORT guidelines are required to provide adequate-quality evidence and make any definitive conclusions on the relative effectiveness of manual toothbrushing techniques.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.