EVIDENCE | 1-MINUTE READ
Published: June 2026
What did the researchers investigate and find?
A systematic review and meta-analysis compared powered and manual toothbrushes in patients wearing fixed orthodontic appliances, assessing dental plaque, gingival inflammation and gingival bleeding.
The review included 23 papers encompassing 39 comparisons.
Most descriptive comparisons found no differences between brush types. However, the meta-analyses identified benefits favoring powered toothbrushes:
- Dental plaque: reduction with a medium effect size.
- Gingival inflammation: improvement with a large effect size.
- Gingival bleeding: reduction with a medium effect size.
Counter-rotational powered toothbrushes showed large improvements in plaque scores in a subgroup analysis, but this finding was supported by very low-quality evidence.
What does this mean for your clinical practice?
Powered toothbrushes may provide additional benefits for plaque and gingivitis control in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.
However, the overall evidence is of low quality, with substantial heterogeneity and possible bias. The true magnitude of any advantage remains uncertain.
Original article:
Powered vs. manual toothbrushes in fixed orthodontic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Source: Read the original study