Interdental Cleaning and Digital Support in Community Periodontal Prevention: A Narrative Review and Proposed Implementation Framework

Background: Periodontal prevention requires effective daily plaque control, individualized risk management, and timely access to professional care. Interdental cleaning is a core self-care measure, while digital services may support education, communication, and referral. Evidence for these approaches differs substantially, and digital engagement should not be equated with clinical benefit. Objective: To synthesize selected evidence on interdental cleaning, mobile health, teledentistry, and artificial-intelligence-assisted periodontal assessment, and to propose a cautious community implementation framework. Review approach: This narrative review draws on selected clinical guidelines, policy documents, systematic and scoping reviews, and relevant primary studies. A targeted, non-systematic literature update was undertaken through 1 November 2026. The review was not designed to be exhaustive or reproducible; no formal risk-of-bias assessment or quantitative synthesis was conducted. Synthesis: Interdental device choice should reflect anatomy, periodontal status, dexterity, preference, and atraumatic access. Interdental brushes are recommended when anatomically feasible, particularly in periodontal maintenance; floss may be considered for contacts that cannot be safely accessed with a brush. Mobile applications and reminders may support selected behaviors, but recent evidence includes null findings in periodontal-care and older-adult settings, and results from orthodontic populations should not be generalized. Teledentistry can facilitate communication and triage but does not replace a comprehensive periodontal examination. AI tools require task-specific validation, transparent reporting, and human oversight. Conclusion: A community approach can link individualized interdental self-care with accessible education, appropriate referral, optional digital follow-up, and staged evaluation of new technologies. The proposed framework is conceptual and has not been tested; its feasibility, effectiveness, equity, and cost require prospective evaluation.