Comparing the Efficacy of Plaque Removal between Salvadora persica (Miswak) and Manual Toothbrush in 12 to 15 Years School Children
ABSTRACT Aim To compare the efficacy of plaque removal between chewing stick (Miswak—Salvadora persica) and manual toothbrush in 12 to 15 years old school children. Methods A randomized, examiner-blind, parallel design study was conducted over a 2-month period, among 12 to 15 years old students of Sri Sajjan Rao Vidya Samasthe, Bengaluru. A sample size of 60 subjects was randomly allocated into two groups, 30 subjects in group A (manual toothbrush) and 30 subjects in group B (chewing stick). The plaque index (Turesky et al, modified Quigley Hein plaque index) was used for base line, pre- and postintervention assessment. Then the data was collected and subjected to statistical analysis and the test used was Student-t test. Results The results were given separately for between and within group comparison. The difference in mean PI score between toothbrush users and tooth stick users is found to be statistically significant (p < 0.01). Higher mean PI score was found in tooth stick users compared to toothbrush users and the mean difference was statistically significant. The difference in mean PI score in both the groups, before and after intervention was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion Manual toothbrush and Miswak tooth sticks (Salvadora persica) both are effective in removal of plaque, but manual toothbrush was more effective than Miswak tooth stick, which was statistically significant.