The IFDH recently fielded a survey to explore dental hygienists’ knowledge and recommendation habits regarding electric toothbrushes. This was the last survey in a 3-survey series to help identify opportunities for future educational programs. See the PowerPoint and PDF summaries at the bottom of this page.

Results Summary

The survey was sent out to 34 national associations. There were 4,345 respondents, representing 36 countries. The top 4 countries with respondents were:

• United States (72%)
• Korea (5%)
• Italy (4%)
• Switzerland (3%)

There was balanced representation across years in practice. Most respondents have a 2- or 4-year degree and work in private practice.

96% of respondents recommend electric toothbrushes to their patients, with 79% recommending them often.

58% of respondents who recommend electric toothbrushes recommend them to all their patients. Patients with consistent plaque build-up, perio/gingival health issues and dexterity challenges are among the most common patient types to receive an electric toothbrush recommendation. Young children and post-surgical patients were cited as less likely to receive an electric toothbrush recommendation.

Top resources respondents use to make decisions about electric toothbrush recommendations include personal usage, feedback from colleagues, peer-reviewed publications and professional magazines.

When asked what type of information patients seek, respondents said patients want to know how electric toothbrushes compare to manual toothbrushes, how electric toothbrushes compare to one another, and cost information.

We would like to thank the respondents for taking time to complete the survey. The information has been very insightful and will help identify future educational learning opportunities.

Click here to save the PowerPoint summary with detailed results.

Click here to save the PDF summary with detailed results.

The IFDH thanks Procter & Gamble (Crest / Oral-B) for supporting this project.