Difference In Efficiency Of Powered Versus Manual Toothbrushes - A 3 - Year Study L. Watermann*, B. Willershausen (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Department Of Conservative Dentistry) The aim of this clinical study was to compare the influence of the efficiency of a powered and a manual toothbrush for children in a 3-year preventive program. At the beginning of the study 50 children from one primary school were selected: 24 schoolchildren (group I , 13 girls and 11 boys, age: 6 years) brushed their teeth with manual toothbrushes and 26 children (group II, 13 girls and 13 boys, age: 6 years) used powered toothbrushes (Oral-B-7 EB 5K, Braun AG,Kronberg, Germany). In addition we tested a group of 40 children from another primary school (group III, 30 boys and 10 girls, age 6 years). Once a year the oral status, oral hygiene and nutritional habits of all 3 groups of children were recorded in a dental examination and prophylactic survey. Specifically we were interested in the caries frequency (DMF-T), the used restoration materials, plaque formation (API) and possible gingivitis scores (SBI,GI). These indices were recorded once a year from the children of all groups and the results of the 3rd year were then compared with the baseline results.   Our observation taken over a period of 3 years showed no statistically significant differences in the oral health among the 3 groups. In spite of regular prophylactic measurements, the percentage of healthy dentitions decreased in group I from 43% to 22%, in group II from 70% to 27% and in group III from 45% to 33%. At the same time the DMF-T value increased in group I from 0.57 to 0.91, in group II from 0.49 to 1.12 and in the group III from 0.38 to 1.08. A moderate increase of sealed fissures could be observed in all groups: in group I from 4% to 29%, in group II from 17% to 54% and in group III from 17% to 45%. The gingivitis scores were furthermore not influenced by the tooth brushing techniques employed.   The data of the study demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the long term efficiency on reduction of the caries frequency between the use of a powered toothbrush or a classic manual tooth brush in a group of primary school children.