Perception of a New Design of Toothbrush by Its Users

Background: The correct position of bristles of a toothbrush requires them to be bent at an angle of 45 along with gums and teeth surfaces. This practice is quite difficult by many people especially dis- advantage group of people. Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of users on a newly designed toothbrush with two brushing surfaces where bristles were prefabricated at an angle of 45 o . Methodology: The innovative toothbrush was provided to 500 voluntarily study participants in Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, Japan and Germany. The subjects cleaned their teeth for two weeks without oral hygiene instructions. The participants submitted their responses based on closed end questionnaire via hard and soft copy. Data was analyzed. Results: There was a 57 percent (n= 285) response rate. The highest response was from Malaysian subjects (n=140, percent 49.12). Due to small number of data from Pakistan, Egypt, Japan and Germany, respondents were combined as International subjects (n=145, percent 50.88). Gender based response was Male (n= 128, percent 44.9) and female (n= 122, percent 42.8) and respondents (n=35, percent 12.3) left the column of gender blank. More than 30 % of the subjects were attracted by its blended colorful bristles. More than 50 % found the new shaped tooth-brush to be satisfactory. Conclusion: The innovative toothbrush is friendly in cleaning teeth without knowing recommended brushing technique.