Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34877772›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of dental hygiene2022

The efficacy of powered toothbrushes: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Tim M J A Thomassen, Fridus G A Van der Weijden, Dagmar E Slot

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readSystematic ReviewNetwork Meta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of dental hygiene, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05935254 (Comparative Evaluation of Plaque Removal Efficacy of Electric Toothbrushes Between Children With Attention Deficit And Hyperactivity Disorder And Healthy Children), which is not on this map. Cited by 43 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
43citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
6.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT05935254 nacompletednot on this map

Comparative Evaluation of Plaque Removal Efficacy of Electric Toothbrushes Between Children With Attention Deficit And Hyperactivity Disorder And Healthy Children

TypeinterventionalSponsorAydin Adnan Menderes UniversityRan2022 to 2022Enrolled52ConditionsAttention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, Dental PlaqueArmsPlaque removal efficacy of children's electric toothbrush (Oral-B D100 Vitality, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, United States), Plaque removal efficacy of children's soft manual toothbrush (Oral-B Stages 6-12 years, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, United States)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

43 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Exploring Toothbrushing Duration Among Adults: A Systematic Review.International journal of dental hygiene · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Tim M J A ThomassenDepartment of Periodontology Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2633-3236
Fridus G A Van der WeijdenDepartment of Periodontology Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5075-8384
Dagmar E SlotDepartment of Periodontology Academic Centre for Dentistry, Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7234-0037
Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimThis systematic review and network meta-analysis synthesizes the available clinical evidence concerning efficacy with respect to plaque scores following a brushing action with oscillating-rotating (OR) or high-frequency sonic (HFS) powered toothbrushes (PTB) compared with a manual toothbrush (MTB) as control. MATERIAL AND

methodsDatabases were searched up to 1 August 2021, for clinical trials that evaluated the efficacy of a PTB with OR or HFS technology compared with an MTB on plaque removal after a single-brushing action and conducted with healthy adult patients. Meta-analysis (MA) and a network meta-analysis (NMA) were performed.

resultsTwenty-eight eligible publications, including 56 relevant comparisons, were retrieved. The overall NMA results for the mean post-brushing score showed a statistically significant difference for the comparison between an OR PTB and an MTB (SMD = -0.43; 95% CI [-0.696;-0.171]). The change in plaque score data showed a significant effect of a PTB over an MTB and OR over HFS. Based on ranking, the OR PTB was highest, followed by the HFS PTB and the MTB.

conclusionWithin the limitations of the present study design, based on the outcome following a single-brushing action, it can be concluded that for dental plaque removal, there is a high certainty for a small effect of a PTB over an MTB. This supports the recommendation to use a powered toothbrush for daily plaque removal. There is moderate certainty for a very small benefit for the use of a powered toothbrush with an OR over an HFS mode of action.

Indexed as

Dental PlaqueAdultDental Plaque IndexEquipment DesignHumansSingle-Blind MethodToothbrushingelectricmanualnetwork meta-analysisplaquepoweredsingle brushingsystematic reviewtoothbrush

Identifiers

PMID34877772
PMCPMC9303421
OpenAlexW4200593133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.