• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.1035-1044
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• 2016

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the plaque removal effects of vacuum oral cleaner developed for the patients with limited mobility with those of manual toothbrushes and high pressure injection oral cleaner (dental water jet). Meterials and methods : Thirty human subjects were measured with Patient Hygiene Performance index (PHP index) and O'Leary index before and after the use of toothbrush, high pressure injection oral cleaner and vacuum oral cleaner. These three different oral hygiene methods were conducted with seven-day intermittence. Then the statistical analysis was carried out to define plaque removal rate of three different oral hygiene methods (${\alpha}=.05$). Results : According to the efficacy analysis of plaque removal before and after the oral cleaning using each of three methods, significant reduction in plaque after the treatment compared to the previous state when using toothbrush, high pressure injection oral cleaner, and vacuum oral cleaner was observed (P < 0.001). PHP index of tooth brushing was higher than that of the high pressure injection oral cleaner, while PHP index of vacuum oral cleaner did not show significant difference from either of the other two methods. There was no significance difference in O'Leary index among the three methods. Conclusion : Effect of plaque removal using the vacuum oral cleaner is comparable to that of manual tooth brush or high pressure injection oral cleaner, so it will be helpful for self-oral hygiene care of the patients with limited mobility.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.121-126
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• 2018

The oral hygiene of patients admitted to the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) is very important. Critically ill patients are basically immunocompromised ones because of the high risk of infection by various pathogenic bacteria. The mouth is not only the primary site of infection, but also the site of systemic infections. The purpose of this study was to design a mouthpiece type vacuum oral cleaner for the oral care of seriously ill patients. A 3D CAD modeling and flow analysis model were established for a double structure type cleaner and standard tooth model, and their pressure and flow characteristics were analyzed. The pressure inside the oral cleaner was almost constant, but the velocity distribution showed a large difference between the inside and outside of the teeth. The velocity at the center region inside of the teeth was the highest, and the speed decreased as the distance from the center increased. In the analysis of the case where the suction tube was replaced by the drainage tube, the velocity at the center of the outer portion of the teeth was the highest. In order to increase the effectiveness of the oral cleaner, alternating between suction and drainage is proposed, and a design complement to increase the speed of the molar region is required.