title: Clinical and laboratory evaluation of powered electric toothbrushes: relative degree of bristle end-rounding.
abstract: Toothbrush bristles with sharp edges have been postulated to represent a greater threat to dental tissues than end-rounded bristles. This study evaluated the effect of both in vivo and laboratory use on bristle wear rate, tip geometry and in vitro abrasivity. Three soft manual brushes (Oral-B P40, Crest Complete and Butler GUM) and one powered brush (Rota-dent) were tested. The results of this study show that the wear rate varied directly with brushing load and amount of dentifrice, and inversely with bristle diameter. Despite the initial geometry, a flat tip with rounded rims was typically observed after only 30 minutes of manual or Rota-dent brush use. There was no statistical difference in in vitro abrasion for new brushes versus used brushes.
authors.affiliation: Creighton University School of Dentistry, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McLey
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarker
mesh_terms: D003802:Dentifrices; D004560:Electricity; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009757:Nylons; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D003802:Dentifrices; D009757:Nylons