Efficacy of a musical tooth brushing drill in maintenance of oral hygiene among children at a correctional institute in Bengaluru city

Tooth brushes are more for play than actual brushing. Motivating these children to brush their teeth becomes imperative.  Dental health education using music, dance and songs can provide a deeper message and provide a better learning experience for these children.

 Hence the aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a musical tooth brushing drill in the oral hygiene status of the children.

Plaque will be  assessed on the labial, buccal, and lingual surfaces of all the teeth after using  DPI AlphaPlac Two Tone Disclosing Agent Dye. It is a two colour disclosing solution to locate old plaque (stained blue) and new plaque (stained pink).

 The scores given

0: No plaque;

1: Separate flecks of plaque at the cervical margin of the tooth;

2: A thin continuous band of plaque (up to 1 mm) at the cervical margin;

3: A band of plaque wider than 1 mm but cover­ing less than one-third of crown of the tooth;

4: Plaque covering at least one-third but less than two-thirds of the crown;

5: Plaque covering two-thirds or more of the crown.

 The participants will be subjected to a music and action routine for tooth brushing. Repetitive exercise for two weeks will be done to condition the participants. Plaque scores will be  assessed using a disclosing agent at baseline, at the end of two-week training drill and four-week follow-up where the participants were asked to brush by themselves without any supervision.