Safety and plaque removal efficacy of a battery-operated power toothbrush and a manual toothbrush.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the safety and plaque removal efficacy of a battery-operated power toothbrush and a reference adult manual toothbrush.


METHODS
This was a single-blind, randomized, split-mouth study. The power toothbrush studied was the Braun Oral-B Battery toothbrush (D4) and this was compared with a standard reference ADA manual toothbrush. The D4 toothbrush is derived from the Plaque Remover range of toothbrushes and has an oscillating/rotating action. At an initial visit, subjects (n = 48) were given a baseline examination of the oral hard and soft tissues and were instructed in the use of the D4. After one week during which subjects used the D4 at home, they returned to the test facility having abstained from oral hygiene for 23-25 hours. Two contralateral quadrants of the mouth were then randomly assigned to be cleaned with each toothbrush. Plaque assessments and hard and soft tissue examinations were made before and after brushing each quadrant for 15 seconds. Plaque was evaluated using the Rustogi modification of the Navy Plaque Index.


RESULTS
Plaque levels were significantly reduced for all sites, marginal sites and approximal sites by both toothbrushes (P < 0.0001), but the efficacy of the D4 was significantly greater than that of the ADA manual brush for all comparisons (P < 0.0001). The greatest difference between the two toothbrushes was at approximal sites where the D4 removed 19% more plaque than the manual toothbrush. For all sites, the D4 was 14% more effective, while at marginal sites the difference in favor of the D4 was 12%.
Sharma
N C
NC
BioSci Research Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario.
Galustians
H J
HJ
Qaqish
J
J
Cugini
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D015588:Observer Variation; D010159:Palate / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012399:Rotation; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014059:Tongue / Q000473:pathology; D014070:Tooth / Q000473:pathology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods