7 - 12 year-olds 13 - 17 year-olds Total P value
Mean (SD)
Oral hygiene status at baseline
Motivation group 1.09 (0.55) 1.18 (0.5) 1.14 (0.51) P = 0.58a
Practical application group 0.98 (0.33) 1.23 (0.46) 1.08 (0.4)
Total 1.03 (0.44) 1.20 (0.48) 1.11 (0.46)
P value P = 0.13b
Oral hygiene status after 3 months intervention
Motivation group 0.53 (0.31) 0.56 (0.33) 0.55 (0.32) P< 0.001a
Practical application group 0.15 (0.13) 0.25 (0.43) 0.19 (0.27)
Total 0.34 (0.3) 0.46 (0.39) 0.40 (0.35)
P value P = 0.19b

aComparisons between motivation and practical application groups.
bComparisons between age groups within motivation and practical application groups.
P value by parametric Student’s t-test.
SD = standard deviation