There are many kinds of oral hygiene devices produced by various companies and distributed in the market; therefore, the dental patients face difficulty in selecting a proper device. Even the dental workforces sometimes have problems recommending the proper oral hygiene device to their patients with different oral states [1]. So, a guide book or simple table for easy selection of the proper oral hygiene devices is needed.

The main oral hygiene devices are toothbrushes and dentifrices that remove dental plaques through toothbrushing [2]. Many guidelines have already been suggested for the selection of proper toothbrush and dentifrice according to the patient’s age group [3]. Therefore, at present, special cases such as patients with fixed type of orthodontic appliance, those with gingival problems, or those with prosthodontic appliances/dental implants should be described for effective use or recommendation.

As it is known, auxiliary oral hygiene devices should be recommended for use in special cases and not in general oral states like wearing a certain appliance or severe gingivitis. So, a proper type of toothbrush and dentifrice as well as an adequate type of auxiliary oral hygiene device should be selected according to the systemic body state and oral state of the dental patient [4].

The systemic body condition and oral state should be considered when selecting a proper device for oral hygiene. An important point of the systemic condition is age group, such as preschool age group, children, adolescents, young adults, middle-aged adults, and elderly, as suggested by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. The oral state should be divided into caries, periodontal problems, presence of prosthodontic or orthodontic appliances, presence of dental implants, and denture wearers.

The oral state should be classified into dental caries, periodontal problems, presence of fixed-type prosthodontic appliances, orthodontic appliances, dental implants, partial denture, or full denture. Oral hygiene devices such as toothbrush, dentifrice, interdental brush, dental floss silk, rubber tip, gingival massager, and gargle solution should be selected.

Systemic condition, oral state, and proper oral hygiene device are shown in Table 1 and it is important to connect the proper items with each other.

Table 1 . Systemic condition and oral state for selection of proper devices

Age	Oral state	Oral hygiene device
Preschool	Severe caries	Toothbrush (soft/orthodontic brush)
Children	Periodontal disease	Dentifrice (fluoride, anti-inflammatory)
Adolescent	Hypersensitive dentin	Interdental brush
Young adult	Fixed prosthodontic appliance	Dental floss silk
Middle-aged adult	Fixed orthodontic appliance	Rubber tip
Elderly	Dental implant	Gingival massager
Disabled	Partial denture Full denture	Gargle solution

The head size of the toothbrush should differ with the patient’s age, which is classified as preschool age group, children, adolescents, and adults, considering the tooth size and oral cavity. It was recommended for the toothbrush head size to cover 2 or 3 posterior teeth, as shown in Figure 1 [5]. How-ever, for special cases, such as orthodontic appliance wearers, it would be recommended to use the concave-type head form of toothbrush, as shown in Figure 2, and zigzag type for bridge-applied patients. For patients with dental implants, it should be recommended to use the two-pane soft brush for the waterpik method of toothbrushing, as shown in Figure 3 [6].

Figure 1. Toothbrushes by age group.

Figure 2. Toothbrush for orthodontic patient.

Figure 3. Toothbrush for implant patient.

Dentifrice could be selected considering the fact that fluoride is contained for caries-sensitive age group and caries-active group; otherwise, anti-inflammatory agents or salt or Al-lantoin deliveries that contained dentifrice could be recommended for patients with periodontal disease, as shown in Figure 4. Moreover, in the case of hypersensitive dentin, desensitization-agent containing dentifrice would be recommended, as shown in Figure 5, and no Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) contained in dentifrice would be recommended for patients with oral malodor, as shown in Figure 6. In the case of hypersensitive dentin, such desensitization agents as fluoride, KCl, or ZnCl₂ contained in dentifrice would be recommended for use with the soft bristle of the toothbrush, and the rolling method of toothbrushing instructions.

Figure 4. Dentifrice for hypersensitive dentin.

Figure 5. Electric toothbrush.

Figure 6. Denture brush.

For aged people, an adult-sized soft toothbrush would be recommended since most of them have periodontal problems. Moreover, for aged persons with implanted teeth, care should be taken to prevent inflammation around the dental implant through the waterpik method of toothbrushing with soft and two-lane toothbrushes, as shown in Figure 3. The use of proper denture brushes should be required, such as the denture brush shown in Figure 7. An electric toothbrush was recommended for disabled persons, as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 7. Dentifrice for periodontal disease.

Figure 8. Dentifrice for malodor control.

As you know, there are many kinds of auxiliary oral hygiene devices produced and sold in the market, as shown in Figure 9
-12. It is very important to match them for proper selection of each dental patient, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 . Simple guideline table for recommendation of oral hygiene devices

Age	Classification	Recommended toothbrush and dentifrice	Recommended auxiliary oral hygiene device
Preschool	General	Small size toothbrush, fluoride dentifrice	Dental floss for incisor
Children	General	Small size toothbrush, fluoride dentifrice
Adolescent	General	Toothbrush for youth, fluoride dentifrice	Gargle for necessary
	Orthodontic	Orthodontic toothbrush, fluoride dentifrice	Interdental-brush, rubber tip
Young adult	General	Toothbrush for adults, fluoride/anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Dental floss, gargle for necessary
	Orthodontic	Orthodontic toothbrush, fluoride/anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental-brush, rubber tip/gingival massager
Middle-aged adult	General	Toothbrush for adults, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental brush/dental floss
	Gingivitis	2 lane soft/vibratory electric toothbrush, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental brush, rubber tip, gingival massager, gargle for necessary
	Prosthodontic	Zig-zag typed toothbrush, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental brush, super-floss/dental thread and floss silk, gingival massager
	Sensitive dentin	Soft toothbrush, SnF2, ZnCl2, KCl contained dentifrice	Fluoride mouth-rinse
	Malodor	Adult toothbrush, no Sodium Lauryl Sulfate dentifrice	Gargle for necessary, tongue cleaner
Elderly	General	Toothbrush for adults, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental brush, gargle for necessary
	Implant	2 lane soft toothbrush, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Interdental brush, waterpik, gargle for necessary
	Denture	Denture brush (full/partial)	Denture cleaner, tissue conditioner
Disabled	Handicapped	Electric toothbrush, anti-inflammatory dentifrice	Gargle for necessary

Figure 9. Dental floss silk.

Figure 10. Interdental brushes.

Figure 11. Rubber tip.

Figure 12. Waterpik.

It was concluded that toothbrushes would be selected by size according to the patient age group, and dentifrice would be selected as caries prevention for children and youth; otherwise, periodontal health for middle-aged or elderly in general.

For adolescents or young adults undergoing orthodontic treatment, the concave-shaped bristle-plane toothbrush was recommended for use in cleaning the upper and lower portions of the bracket wire that includes the gingival sulcus by short vibration, and the interdental brush should be selected for proximal area cleansing for them.

In the case of adults with periodontal problems, it would be recommended to use the two-lane soft bristle toothbrush to ease the Bass method of toothbrushing. It would also be suggested to use dental floss silk or the interdental brush to eliminate dental plaques at the proximal surface and to use the rubber tip or gingival massager for subsiding gingivitis.

For hypersensitive dental patients, it was recommended to use desensitization ingredients such as SnF₂, ZnCl₂, or KCl₂ contained dentifrice with weak and fine abrasives; otherwise, non-SLS-containing dentifrice was recommended for patients with oral malodor.

For patients with dental implants, the two-lane toothbrush was recommended to perform the waterpik method around the gingiva of the dental implant to prevent peri-implantitis.

Denture brushes should be used for patients with denture and different types for partial denture and full denture, and electric toothbrushes with short-lived vibrations would be recommended for disabled persons or patients with gingival pro-blems.

Proper selection of oral hygiene devices is recommended for individuals for effective dental care and successful promotion of oral heal health.

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.