Oral hygiene regimens, plaque control, and gingival health: a two-month clinical trial with antimicrobial agents.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of various product combinations involving brush, paste, rinse, and floss on the prevention of plaque regrowth and gingivitis.


METHODS
In this randomized, parallel-group, examiner-blind, eight-week study, 179 subjects with gingivitis had a dental prophylaxis and were randomly assigned to one of six product combinations: 1) Colgate Wave manual toothbrush + Colgate Total dentifrice (0.3% triclosan/copolymer dentifrice); 2) Wave + Total + Listerine (essential oils rinse); 3) Oral-B CrossAction manual toothbrush + Crest Pro-Health dentifrice (0.454% stannous fluoride/sodium hexametaphosphate); 4) CrossAction + Pro-Health dentifrice + Crest Pro-Health Rinse (0.07% cetylpyridinium chloride rinse); 5) Oral-B ProfessionalCare Series 8000 power toothbrush + Pro-Health dentifrice; or 6) ProfessionalCare power brush + Pro-Health dentifrice + Oral-B Hummingbird power flosser. Subjects used their test products for the duration of the study. Whole mouth plaque, gingivitis, and product-related adverse events were assessed. Treatments were compared at a 0.05 level of significance.


RESULTS
One-hundred and seventy-four subjects completed the study and were included in the data analysis. At Week 8, the overnight adjusted whole mouth plaque scores were statistically significantly lower in all other groups relative to the Wave + Total group (p < or = 0.030). Plaque scores were also statistically significantly lower (approximately 20%) in both groups where a therapeutic rinse was added to a manual brush and therapeutic paste relative to scores for the brush plus paste without a rinse (p < or = 0.034). All groups showed a reduction in gingivitis at Week 4, and mean scores remained stable or increased slightly at Week 8. The power toothbrush groups were directionally better at preventing gingivitis than the manual groups at Weeks 4 and 8.


CONCLUSIONS
Reductions in overnight plaque were seen when therapeutic rinses were added to manual brush plus therapeutic dentifrice regimens above that observed with a manual brush and therapeutic dentifrice alone.
Biesbrock
Aaron R
AR
The Procter & Gamble Company, Health Care Research Center, Mason, OH, USA. biesbrock.ar@pg.com
Bartizek
Robert D
RD
Gerlach
Robert W
RW
Terézhalmy
Géza T
GT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000627:therapeutic use; D045424:Complex Mixtures; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003802:Dentifrices / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009067:Mouthwashes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010710:Phosphates; D012824:Silicic Acid; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D014002:Tin Fluorides; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014100:Toothpastes; D014260:Triclosan
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D045424:Complex Mixtures; C510825:Crest Pro-Health Dentifrice; D003802:Dentifrices; D009067:Mouthwashes; D010710:Phosphates; D014002:Tin Fluorides; D014100:Toothpastes; C546060:hydrated silica gel-based toothpaste; D012824:Silicic Acid; D014260:Triclosan; D005459:Fluorides