The dentin abrasivity potential of a new electric toothbrush.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety of the new Braun Oral-B Ultra Plaque Remover (D9) electric toothbrush, by measuring its abrasivity to dentin and comparing it with the abrasivity of a standard ADA reference toothbrush.


METHODS
Dentin abrasion was measured by a radiotracer technique, using a modification of the ADA recommended methodology. A V-8 cross-brushing machine, set to make 1,500 strokes, was used for the standard reference ADA toothbrush. Because the electric toothbrush would not fit on the V-8 machine, the brushing procedure was modified so the D9 was suspended from a ring stand in a shaker bath set to give 44 strokes/minute. Both toothbrushes were tested with a slurry of 25 g of Crest dentifrice in 40 ml of water. After both toothbrushes had been tested for 8.5 minutes, samples of the slurry were put in a scintillation counter and mean net counts per minute (cpm) per gram of slurry were calculated.


RESULTS
The mean relative dentin abrasion (RDA) of the Braun Oral-B Ultra Plaque Remover (D9) brush was found to be low (16) and was markedly less than that of the ADA reference brush (100).
Schemehorn
B R
BR
Indiana University School of Dentistry, Oral Health Research Institute, Indianapolis 46202-2876, USA.
Zwart
A C
AC
D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy; D003804:Dentin; D004560:Electricity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D014072:Tooth Abrasion / Q000209:etiology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*