Effects of behavioral self-management on oral hygiene adherence among orthodontic patients.

Twenty-nine new orthodontic patients and 30 experienced orthodontic patients received either behavioral self-management of toothbrushing and mouth rinsing or an experimental regimen that consisted of prompting by the orthodontist to brush and rinse regularly plus instructions to turn in home care materials during orthodontic visits. Several sets of data showed uniformly high rates of brushing and rinsing among all four groups of subjects. Several data sets also showed significant improvements in oral health status among all four groups. Substantive and methodologic directions for future research are delineated.