Methods for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Home Oral Hygiene Measures—A Narrative Review of Dental Biofilm Indices

Abstract

Dental plaque is a biofilm structured in an extracellular matrix of polymers of host and microbial origin; the microorganisms can coexist in harmony with the host, thus guarantying oral health. Environmental modifications can lead to dysbiosis and onset of oral diseases; in fact, plaque is the etiological agent both of periodontal disease and dental decay. The use of an effective oral hygiene index should be considered as a relevant goal for the clinicians and the researchers, and consequently, numerous plaque indices have been proposed during the years. The present literature review aims primarily to obtain a complete summary of these scores to assess plaque deposits. It is useful because the clinician/researcher will select the right scoring method for the specific situation only if he knows the available options and if he is aware of both their strengths and weaknesses. This review applies a basic classification of plaque indices that distinguishes the ones that use non-quantitative methods from the ones that use quantitative methods. Non-quantitative methods are more subjective because they are based on the ability of the clinician to point out the presence or the entity of deposits, while quantitative methods introduce objectifiable means to measure plaque deposits.

Impact of an Educational Intervention on Oral Health Knowledge and Bacterial Plaque Control in Male Secondary School Students in a Peruvian Province: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…This index is indicated in epidemiological studies and educational programmes, as it is easy to use and the examination can be performed without delay. 39 In contrast, although the Turesky-Gilmore-Glickman index is considered one of the best indices for plaque assessment in clinical studies, its application in daily clinical practice is considered impractical. 39 Therefore, the decision was taken in this research to use the IHO-S to assess the oral hygiene level of secondary school children, as it tested an educational intervention in which a quick and practical measurement by a single operator was needed, even more so when at the time of the present study there were certain restrictions on access to the population due to the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

Rehabilitation of Toothless Conditions with Dental Implants to Improve the Nutritional Status and General Health of the Terban Village Community

“…Dental and oral hygiene status is a condition that describes the cleanliness of a person's teeth and mouth (Tadin et al, 2022). The assessment index uses an oral hygiene index or Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S), which is a combination index between the debris index and the calculus index to measure dental and oral health problems, namely the lack of knowledge about dental and oral hygiene (D'Elia et al, 2023). Dental and oral health problems, such as caries, gingivitis, and dental and oral hygiene, can be measured using the Oral Hygiene Index Simplified (OHI-S) from Green and Vermilion.…”