Acceptance of the meridol toothbrush by dental hygienists. A questionnaire study

• Published in: Schweizer Monatsschrift fur Zahnmedizin = Revue mensuelle suisse d'odonto-stomatologie = Rivista mensile svizzera di odontologia e stomatologia Vol. 117; no. 10; p. 1050
• Main Authors: Saxer, Ulrich P, Nittner, Thomas, Toutenburg, Helge
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: Switzerland 2007
• Subjects: Cross-Over Studies; Dental Devices, Home Care; Dental Hygienists; Female; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires; Toothbrushing - instrumentation
• ISSN: 0256-2855

Two manual toothbrushes were tested in a questionnaire study by 171 dental hygienists in a crossover design: a new toothbrush with conical filaments (meridol toothbrush, GABA International AG) and a reference toothbrush with end-rounded filaments (ADA toothbrush, American Dental Association). Each trial subject tested the two manual toothbrushes in two consecutive periods. Not only was the immediate impression of interest but also the impression after a period of three weeks. Therefore, four questionnaires in total had to be answered. All but a few questions (e.g. "the most often used toothbrush up to date" in the first questionnaire) were identical in the four questionnaires. After a single use the overall impression of the meridol toothbrush was good and very good for 95.1% of the trial subjects (ADA: 26.4%). The feeling along the gingival margin was very positively judged after a single brushing by the meridol user: 92.7% (ADA: 35.3%). The cleaning performance of the meridol toothbrush was found to be good and very good by 85.5% of the meridol beginner group, whereas only 60.2% of the ADA beginner group judged the ADA toothbrush as good or very good. The most remarkable fact is that nearly 90% of these professional trial subjects have decided to continue to use the meridol toothbrush and more than 90% would recommend it to their patients.