title: Removal of dental plaque from different regions of the mouth after a 1-minute episode of mechanical oral hygiene.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess dental plaque on different regions of the dentition prior to and immediately after toothbrushing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects refrained from oral hygiene for 22-26 hours prior to baseline whole mouth plaque assessments by the Turesky modification of the Quigley-Hein Index (TMQH). All subjects brushed with a marketed soft-bristled toothbrush and a fluoride dentifrice for 1 minute prior to post-brushing plaque assessments similar to baseline. One calibrated clinical examiner conducted all measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  30 subjects (mean age 23 years) completed the study. Irrespective of arch, posterior teeth harbored higher frequencies for scores of 3-5 than corresponding anterior teeth prior to brushing. In comparison to the pre-brushing examination, scores of 0-1 were more common in the post-brushing evaluation, however, greater frequencies of higher plaque were observed on posterior than on anterior regions. Irrespective of gender, subject or arch, anterior teeth harbored lower mean amounts of plaque than posterior teeth by ANOVA at both clinical examinations (P < 0.0001). Additionally, irrespective of arch, lower mean scores for plaque were observed on anterior teeth than from posterior teeth or the whole mouth at both examinations (P < 0.001). Lingual and molar surfaces consistently harbored large densities of plaque and represented areas with the least plaque removal after toothbrushing. Mid-vestibular sites represented the areas with the highest percent removal of plaque at 65% and harbored significantly lower levels of plaque than proximal sites during all phases of the study (P < 0.0059).
authors.affiliation: SDM College of Dental Sciences & Hospital Dharwad, India.
authors.forename: Kakarla V V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.forename: Prem K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sreenivasan
authors.forename: Subhash
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.forename: Kumar G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Chhabra
authors.forename: Shivalingappa B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Javali
authors.forename: Wiliam
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: DeVizio
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001641:Bicuspid; D003481:Cuspid; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000628:therapy*; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003802:Dentifrices / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor; D008297:Male; D008963:Molar; D014099:Toothbrushing; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003802:Dentifrices; D005459:Fluorides