The influence of toothbrush age on plaque control and gingivitis

The purpose of this single-blind randomised controlled clinical trial was to verify the impact of progressive toothbrush age on clinical variables of dental plaque and gingival conditions. A total of 110 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four groups according to toothbrush age, as meas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOral health & preventive dentistry Vol. 9; no. 2; p. 167
Main Authors Pochapski, Márcia Thaís, Canever, Tatiana, Wambier, Denise Stadler, Pilatti, Gibson Luiz, Santos, Fábio André
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Germany 2011
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Dental Devices, Home Care
Dental Plaque - prevention & control
Dental Plaque Index
Equipment Reuse
Female
Gingivitis - therapy
Humans
Male
Observer Variation
Periodontal Index
Single-Blind Method
Statistics, Nonparametric
Toothbrushing - instrumentation
Young Adult
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Summary:The purpose of this single-blind randomised controlled clinical trial was to verify the impact of progressive toothbrush age on clinical variables of dental plaque and gingival conditions. A total of 110 undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of four groups according to toothbrush age, as measured at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Clinical parameters (plaque and gingival indices) were assessed at 1 week (initial) and final periods. The wear of toothbrushes was evaluated by the wear index. Despite progressive toothbrush age, plaque and gingival indices were similar after the toothbrushing periods (p > 0.05, ANOVA). Significantly more plaque and gingivitis were present on lingual/palatal surfaces as compared with facial surfaces for all weeks, including the baseline (P < 0.001, paired t test.). The wear index increased from 4 weeks to 16 weeks. Plaque and gingival indices did not show statistical differences among 'lowest wear', 'moderate wear' and 'highest wear' (P > 0.05, ANOVA). Under the experimental conditions of this study, progressive toothbrush age did not lead to a decrease in plaque control. It was concluded that toothbrush age may not be critical in ensuring optimal plaque control.
ISSN:1602-1622