Middle East’s Dentist Meet Recommends Power Brushes for Improved Oral Hygiene

A group of the Middle East’s leading dentists have come together to agree on how best to promote good oral hygiene through brushing. Held in Dubai at the end of August and supported by Procter & Gamble, the first dental consensus has issued a series of recommendations to help improve oral hygiene in the region. These proposals, which focused on tooth brushing habits across the Middle East, include an agreement that electric power brushes are more effective at maintaining oral health, and that Bluetooth enabled power brushes have the potential to encourage better oral care among children.

Co-chaired by Hamdan Bin Mohammad’s College of Dental Medicine’s Professor Crawford Bain and Dr Arwa Al-Sayed, Director for the Saudi Board of Periodontics, the meeting of ten dentists from Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates met for two days to discuss how best to promote better brushing habits among the region’s consumers. Research undertaken by the Dubai Healthcare Authority in February of this year found that 80 percent of children in Dubai between the ages of 12 and 15 have unhealthy gums.

The group agreed on the following recommendations:

1. Evidence suggests that power brushes are more effective in the short & long term compared to manual brushes. According to present data, over the short & long term, power brushes are better at maintaining oral health.

2. Evidence suggests that oscillating-rotating power brushes are superior to all others in the short & long term.

3. Bluetooth enabled power brushes with interactive apps and smart guides have the potential to aid in better compliance from children. This consensus suggested that power brushing can be started at any age if parent and child are comfortable with it.

4. Power brushes with an oscillating-rotating mode of action are more effective than others at reducing and preventing gingivitis in the short & long term.

5. Power brushes with an integrated pressure feedback mechanism could have the potential of reducing soft & hard tissue abrasion.

“This was the first time that we’ve brought together such a group of experts to talk about the pressing need to improve the region’s oral hygiene. The Middle East in general suffers from poor oral hygiene when compared to regions such as Western Europe, and as a profession we felt that it was important to come together to agree on how to change the status quo. Regular brushing is an essential part of good oral health, and by using power brushes we can better maintain our oral health both in the short term and the long term,” said Professor Crawford Bain, Program Director Periodontology, at Hamdan Bin Mohammad College of Dental Medicine.
The two-day meeting was attended by Professor Khaled Balto, Chairman Department of Endodontics at King Abdulaziz University, and King Saud University’s Dr. Montasser Al-Qutub, Associate Professor in Periodontology & Implantology, both from Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Nabeel Al-Sabeeha, Consultant Prosthodontist at the Ministry of Health in Ras Al Khaimah, Dr. Elias Berdouses, Assistant Professor Department of Paediatric Dentistry at Dubai’s European University College, Dubai-based Dr. Ajay Juneja, Specialist Prosthodontist and Esthetic Dentist, Dr. Eftherios Kaklamanos, Assistant Professor of Orthodontics, at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed College of Dental Medicine, all of whom are based in the UAE, as well as Dr. Badar Monir Zaki, Senior Consultant Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, Al Nahdha Hospital from Oman and Dr. Nabih Nader, Clinical Chief Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department, from the Beirut-based Lebanese University.