App-supported powered toothbrushing during non-surgical periodontal therapy in stage III-IV periodontitis: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

Adequate plaque control is essential for successful non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). App-supported powered toothbrushes (PT) may improve oral hygiene behaviour, but evidence of additional clinical benefit during NSPT in advanced periodontitis is limited. This secondary analysis of a prospectively registered four-arm randomized controlled trial compared an app-supported PT with an identical PT without app support.

Forty-four patients with generalized stage III-IV periodontitis were randomly assigned within the powered-toothbrush stratum to an app-supported PT (TPB, n = 23) or an identical PT without app support (CPB, n = 21) and analysed by intention-to-treat; missing data due to dropout (TPB/CPB: n = 4/n = 3) were handled using last observation carried forward. All patients received standardized NSPT. Clinical parameters were assessed at baseline (T1) and after 5-6 months (T6). ΔGBI was the registered primary outcome of the four-arm trial; ΔPPD (T6-T1), a prespecified secondary clinical outcome, was the principal outcome of this two-arm analysis. Questionnaire-based oral hygiene motivation was assessed at T1 and T6.