THE INFLUENCE OF HAND DOMINANCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ORAL HYGIENE - LITERATURE REVIEW
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31435/ijitss.3(51).2026.6365Keywords:
Oral Hygiene, Handedness, Lateralization, DexterityAbstract
Introduction: The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) has advanced our understanding of the microbiome's role in health and disease. The oral cavity hosts a complex microbiome, comprising over 750 microbial species, including bacteria, archaea, viruses, and fungi. Bacteria, forming dental plaque biofilm, are the primary cause of caries and periodontal diseases. Factors such as oral hygiene and diet influence oral health, with handedness potentially affecting plaque removal efficiency.
Methodology: This review, sourced from PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, analyzes hand lateralization’s impact on dental plaque removal and neuroplastic changes linked to motor skill acquisition, using fMRI and mirror neuron studies. Keywords: oral hygiene, handedness, dental plaque, motor skills, oral microbiome.
Discussion: Handedness subtly influences dental plaque removal, with right-handers showing better upper left quadrant cleaning and left-handers favoring right quadrants. However, standardized training minimizes these differences, emphasizing technique and education over hand dominance.
Conclusions: Handedness has a minor impact on dental plaque removal, with quadrant-specific differences due to accessibility and brushing dynamics. Proper instruction reduces these disparities, emphasizing technique, dexterity, and motivation. Neural plasticity supports non-dominant hand improvement. Future research should explore motor learning and behavioral factors to optimize oral hygiene.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Zuzanna Rabczak, Karolina Piatikow, Jakub Rusek, Patrycja Pękala, Gabriela Opolska, Jakub Sobstyl, Piotr Pękala, Julia Marek, Zuzanna Skowronek, Katarzyna Rusek
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