A clinical comparison of three powered toothbrushes.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the present study was to compare the ability of the Braun Oral-B 3D Excel power toothbrush (BPT), the Sonicare power toothbrush (SPT) and the Philips Sensiflex 2000 (HX 2550) power toothbrush (PPT) to control plaque and reduce experimentally induced gingivitis.


METHODS
Two experiments were carried out in two different groups of subjects using a split-mouth design whereby the two halves of the mandible which had been allowed to develop gingivitis were brushed over a 4-week period with the test toothbrushes. Experiment 1 compared the BPT with the SPT (n = 35) and experiment 2 compared the BPT with the PPT (n = 32). The study used a run-in period of 2 weeks, which, together with the 3-week experimental gingivitis phase, represented the pretrial phase of the experiment. The purpose of this phase was two-fold: first, to enable the subjects to become acquainted with the two power brushes and for them to receive proper oral hygiene instruction, and, second, to develop a reasonable level of gingivitis on the mandible. Those subjects with at least 40% of sites exhibiting bleeding in each quadrant in the mandible at day 21 of the experimental gingivitis phase were allowed to continue with the trial. During the next 4 weeks (treatment phase) of each experiment, subjects were told to brush according to a split-mouth design, the right and left sides of the mouth being randomly allocated to a toothbrush. During this period, no rinsing with an antiseptic mouthwash or flossing was allowed and a standard toothpaste (Zendium(R)) was used. After 1, 2 and 4 weeks, the plaque index (Quigley & Hein) and the bleeding tendency on marginal probing were assessed in the mandible.


RESULTS
Experiment 1 showed that the bleeding score was reduced from 1.63 to 1.12 at 4 weeks by the BPT and from 1.65 to 1.26 by the SPT. This reduction was more rapid and greater with the BPT (P < 0.05). The plaque index was reduced from 2.19 at day 21-1.03 at 4 weeks by the BPT, and from 2.18 to 1.20 by the SPT. The difference between the two toothbrushes was not significant. Experiment 2 showed that the bleeding score was reduced from 1.77 at day 21 to 1.07 at 4 weeks by the BPT and from 1.75 to 1.24 by the PPT. This reduction was more rapid and greater with the BPT (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in plaque index at 4 weeks (BPT, 1.09; PPT, 0.95). Data from the questionnaire at the end of the study revealed that, in both experiments, most subjects preferred the BPT.


CONCLUSIONS
The data from this study show that the design and action of the Braun Oral-B 3D Excel power toothbrush are more effective in resolving gingivitis than the Sonicare & the Philips Sensiflex 2000 power toothbrushes.
van der Weijden
G A
GA
Department of Periodontology, ACTA, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ga.vd.weijden@acta.nl
Timmerman
M F
MF
Piscaer
M
M
IJzerman
Y
Y
van der Velden
U
U
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004867:Equipment Design; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000517:prevention & control; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010512:Periodontal Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014100:Toothpastes / Q000627:therapeutic use
D014100:Toothpastes