García Mato, ElianeSande López, LucíaDiniz Freitas, MárcioAbeleira Pazos, María TeresaLimeres Posse, JacoboDiz Dios, PedroRivas Mundiña, Berta2023-07-112023-07-112023Mato EG, López LS, Freitas MD, Pazos MTA, Posse JL, Dios PD, Mundiña BR. Plaque removal efficacy of a new toothbrush with a double-sided head and rotating handle-a pilot randomized control trial in acquired brain injury patients. Clin Oral Investig. 2023 Jun 30. doi: 10.1007/s00784-023-05106-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37389693.1432-6981http://hdl.handle.net/10347/30864Objectives: To assess the efficacy of a new toothbrush (Balene) for the mechanical removal of dental plaque in patients with acquired brain injury. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 25 adults with acquired brain injury. The participants underwent 2 sessions of toothbrushing lasting 1 min, one with a conventional toothbrush and the other with the Balene toothbrush. This new double-headed toothbrush has 6 active sides, which allows for the simultaneous toothbrushing of both alveolar arches, with elastomer bristles angled at 45°, as well a handle that rotates up to 180°. Therefore, the user does not need to remove the toothbrush from the oral cavity during the toothbrushing process. Dental plaque accumulation was assessed using the simplified oral hygiene index of Greene and Vermillion. Results: The plaque index was significantly reduced both with the Balene toothbrush (p < 0.001) and with the conventional toothbrush (p < 0.001). The dental plaque removal efficacy was similar with the two toothbrushes. There were also no statistically significant differences in the removal of plaque with the Balene toothbrush between the autonomous and assisted toothbrushing modalities (p = 0.345). Conclusions: For patients with acquired brain injury, the Balene toothbrush was as effective as a conventional toothbrush, regardless of whether the toothbrushing modality was autonomous or assisted. Clinical relevance: The Balene® toothbrush's efficacy in removing dental plaque is similar to that of conventional toothbrushes, both with the autonomous and assisted toothbrushing modality. Given its particular ergonomics, this toothbrush could be indicated for certain select patients with acquired brain injury (i.e., those whose degree of cooperation allows for toothbrushing, with a sufficient mouth opening, with no substantial abnormalities in the intermaxillary relationship, and with no significant edentulous sections)eng© The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ToothbrushDental plaqueErgonomicsAcquired brain injuryjournal article10.1007/s00784-023-05106-y1436-3771open access