title: Removal of supragingival plaque in an intraoral model by use of the Sonicare toothbrush.
abstract: This study was performed to evaluate plaque removal efficacy of a mechanical toothbrush in a controlled in vivo trial. The study used enamel sections, obtained from extracted human teeth, to evaluate the efficacy of supragingival plaque removal by a mechanical powered toothbrush in various modes of use. Enamel sections were positioned in milled depressions on metal extensions of a maxillary partial denture that bilaterally extended along the buccal corridors. Four sections were used per side, positioned zero, 2 or 3mm from the surface of the metal extension. The prosthesis was worn for 16 hours, whereupon four enamel sections (two per side) were removed. Intra-oral brushing was then performed for 5 or 15 seconds on the remaining four sections. The total of adherent bacteria was then assayed from all enamel sections. Ten to twenty trials were performed (n=4 pairs/trial) for each set of variables. When the electric toothbrush was used as a manual brush ('off'), it was equivalent in plaque removal to a conventional toothbrush (Oral-B 35; P = 0.49). However, when the powered brush was in its active mode ('on'), it removed more bacteria (P < 0.0001); this efficacy was observed even when the bristle tips were at a distance from the plaque surface.
authors.affiliation: Dows Institute for Dental Research, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, 52242, USA. Clark-Stanford@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Stanford
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Srikantha
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kirchner
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000382:microbiology; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003829:Denture, Partial; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004560:Electricity; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013499:Surface Properties; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014732:Vibration