EC Dental Science

Background: Plaque is intimately related to the production and progress of dental caries and inflammatory gingival and periodontal diseases. Good plaque control facilitates the return to health for patients with gingival and periodontal diseases. Daily use of a toothbrush and other oral hygiene aids is the most dependable way to achieve oral health benefits for all patients.

Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of a powered toothbrush with a manual toothbrush in controlling plaque and gingivitis over a 6-week period. The sample consisted of 60 dental students of both sexes, with ages ranging from 18 to 28 years. The samples were stratified and randomly divided into two groups of 30 by a second examiner using the coin toss method; one group used a manual toothbrush and the other group used a powered toothbrush. Each participant’s gingival index, plaque index and oral hygiene index were assessed on the seventh, 14^th and 45^th days on the basis of the assigned toothbrush. Collected data were analyzed and different subgroups were compared using Student’s t-test.

Results: A paired t-test revealed a highly significant reduction in the gingival, plaque, and oral hygiene index scores of the manual and powered groups at the first, second, and sixth weeks (P-value, 0.0001). An unpaired t-test revealed a significant reduction between the plaque index scores of the manual and powered groups at the second week (P-value, 0.05). Another unpaired t-test revealed a highly significant reduction between the plaque index scores of the manual and powered groups at the sixth week (P-value, 0.0001).

Conclusion: The subject group using the powered toothbrush demonstrated clinical and statistical improvement in overall plaque scores. Powered toothbrushes offer an individual the ability to brush the teeth in a way that is optimal in terms of removing plaque and improving gingival health, conferring good brushing technique on all who use them, irrespective of manual dexterity or training.

 Keywords: Plaque Control; Oral Hygiene; Powered Toothbrush

1. Everett B Hancock. “Prevention”. Annals of Periodontology 1 (1996): 223-249.
2. P Axelsson and J Lindhe. “The significance of maintenance care in the treatment of periodontal disease”. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 4 (1981): 281-294.
3. Irwin R Mandel. “Chemotherapeutic agents for controlling plaque and gingivitis”. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 8 (1988): 488-498.
4. Electric toothbrush. Wikipedia.
5. Sebastian Ciancio. “For whom are they designed?” Advances in Dental Research 1 (2002): 6-8.
6. Diane Cummins. “Vehicles: how to deliver the goods”. Periodontology 20001 (1997): 84-99.
7. Geoffrey C., et al. “Gum health product formulations: what is in them and why?” Periodontology 2000 15 (1997): 32-39.
8. H Stean and GC Forward. “Measurement of plaque growth following toothbrushing”. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 8 (1980): 420-423.
9. Lobene RR. “Effect of dentifrices on tooth stains with controlled brushing”. Journal of the American Dental Association 4 (1968): 849-855.
10. GK Stookey., et al. “In vitro removal of stain with dentifrices”. Journal of Dental Research 11 (1982): 1236-1239.
11. Eid MA and Talic YF. “A clinical trial on the effectiveness of professional toothbrushing using dentifrice and water”. Odonto-stomatologie Tropicale 2 (1991): 9-12.
12. Parizotto SP., et al. “Effectiveness of low cost toothbrushes, with or without dentifrice, in the removal of bacterial plaque in deciduous teeth”. Pesquisa Odontológica Brasileira 1 (2003): 17-23.
13. Binney A., et al. “The plaque removal effects of single rinsing and brushings”. Journal of Periodontology 3 (1993): 181-185.
14. Loe H and Silness J. “Periodontal disease in pregnancy: I. Prevalence and severity”. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica 21 (1963): 533-551.
15. Trevor LP Watts. “Periodontics in Practice: Science with Humanity”. 1^st edition, Martin Dunitz publisher (2000).