title: A comparison of three methods for estimating dental plaque removal from individual teeth.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of dental plaque removal, in vitro, by physical force. Of the 3 methods used, turbidity was the most sensitive for measuring microgram amounts of plaque. Air-dried weight and dental plaque imprint assays (DPIA) complemented turbidity measurements by providing a weight standard and a new method for visualizing plaque bacterial structure before the stained imprint was transformed into numerical data. The amount of dental plaque removed from a tooth by physical force can be measured and described as a percentage of the total removable plaque on that tooth.
authors.affiliation: College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Rubright
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Spivey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy*; D012534:Dental Scaling / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry