Relationship between oral hygiene state and levels of oral sensory perception and motor ability.

It has been postulated that subjects with high levels of oral sensory perception and motor ability are able to achieve higher standards of oral hygiene even under different dietary regimes. In this study, eleven dental personnel volunteers were started on a low-sucrose diet for one week, followed by a high-sucrose diet for another week, while eleven others followed a reverse-order dietary regime. Oral sensory perception and motor ability were assessed by the oral stereognosis test and a test for oral motor ability. There was a greater trend for subjects to have more plaque on their teeth when they were on the high-sucrose diet, even when normal oral hygiene procedures were taken. There were no significant correlations between the state of oral hygiene and levels of oral sensory perception and motor ability. These results do not support the hypothesis that subjects with high levels of oral sensory perception and motor ability are likely to achieve better oral hygiene.