Clinical evaluation of the plaque removal efficacy and safety of the Sonicare Elite toothbrush.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of a new oral hygiene device, the Sonicare Elite toothbrush, with the established efficacy and safety of the original Sonicare toothbrush (Sonicare Advance).


METHODS
These two products were evaluated in a 2-week, crossover, single blind clinical trial with 45 subjects. At the baseline visit, a soft-tissue intraoral exam was performed and subjects were randomly assigned to the first treatment. Subjects were given each product for a period of 7 days to become familiar with its use. After the familiarization period, subjects reported for two clinical evaluations. Both plaque removal efficacy and safety were recorded at each evaluation. Plaque was scored using the Turesky Modification of the Quigley-Hein plaque index and safety recorded by an intraoral examination of the soft tissue. After the first treatment arm, subjects crossed over to the other treatment arm and repeated the product use and evaluation sequence. Paired analysis (two-way analysis of variance) was used to detect differences between the two groups.


RESULTS
The results indicated that both devices were effective in removing supragingival plaque. The Sonicare Elite was statistically superior, on a percentage reduction basis, in removing supragingival plaque from the dentition taken as a whole (ANOVA; P < 0.05) and was particularly better in hard-to-reach areas such as posterior teeth and interproximal sites (ANOVA; P < 0.05). Neither treatment group exhibited soft tissue concerns, confirming the safety of both these oral hygiene products.
Platt
Karen
K
Dental Research Center, Philips Oral Healthcare Inc., Snoqualmie, WA 98065, USA. karen.platt@philips.com
Moritis
Kathie
K
Johnson
Matthew R
MR
Berg
Joel
J
Dunn
James R
JR
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety; D004923:Erythrosine; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D015588:Observer Variation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013010:Sonication / Q000295:instrumentation; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D004923:Erythrosine