Plaque removal efficacy of a battery-operated power toothbrush compared to two control manual toothbrushes in single use studies.
OBJECTIVE
Recently, a power toothbrush (Crest SpinBrush) has been reported to remove plaque more effectively than a manual toothbrush (Colgate Navigator). The objective of these studies was to compare the plaque removal efficacy of two control manual toothbrushes (Colgate Wave and Colgate Plus) to an experimental power toothbrush (Crest SpinBrush). The Colgate Plus has an ordinary flat bristle trim design, while the Colgate Wave has an advanced design multilevel bristle trim for greater interproximal penetration.


METHODS
Each of these two studies were randomized, controlled, examiner-blind, 4-period crossover designs which examined plaque removal with the experimental toothbrush relative to a control manual toothbrush following a single use in 37 and 35 subjects, respectively. Plaque was scored before and after brushing using the Turesky Modification of the Quigley-Hein Index.


RESULTS
In the first study, average baseline plaque scores were 2.88 and 2.89 for the experimental toothbrush and advanced designed manual control toothbrush (Colgate Wave) treatment groups, respectively. With respect to all surfaces examined, the experimental toothbrush delivered an adjusted (via analysis of covariance) mean difference between baseline and post-brushing plaque scores of 0.70 while the control toothbrush delivered an adjusted mean difference of 0.59. The difference between the brushes was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The experimental toothbrush removed, on average, 19.9% more plaque than the control toothbrush. In the second study, baseline plaque scores averaged 3.07 and 3.04 for the experimental toothbrush and ordinary flat trim manual control toothbrush (Colgate Plus) treatment groups, respectively. With respect to all surfaces examined, the experimental toothbrush delivered an adjusted (via analysis of covariance) mean difference between baseline and post-brushing plaque scores of 0.87 while the control toothbrush delivered an adjusted mean difference of 0.62. The difference between brushes was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The experimental toothbrush removed, on average, 40.0% more plaque than the control toothbrush.
Heins
Paul
P
Department of Periodontology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
Bartizek
Robert D
RD
Walters
Patricia A
PA
Biesbrock
Aaron R
AR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004396:Coloring Agents; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004396:Coloring Agents