Cleaning Results for Manual Toothbrushes for Patients With Periodontal Problems

Objectives: A new range of manual toothbrushes, designed with needs of the periodontal patient in mind, feature extra soft and soft bristles with compact filament arrangements, end-rounded or chemically tapered filaments. The design is intended to minimise soft tissue trauma and improve cleaning in the interproximal areas and along the gingival sulcus or difficult to reach areas of the mouth therefore these new brushes were evaluated using the laboratory model described below.
Methods: A clinically validated, comparative Robot Test uses KaVo typodonts with teeth in anatomic positions and coated in simulated plaque to assess toothbrush efficacy (ORMED). All 10 teeth are cleaned with brushing movements horizontally, rotationally and vertically at 3.5N force. Plaque removal at 24 planimetrical fields per tooth is calculated by computer-assisted optical planimetry (APP) with differentiation of specific areas. The reference brush was Oral B Ultra Soft SensiSoft flat trim
Results: There are different levels of plaque control efficacy (p <= 0.001, p <= 0.01 and p <= 0.05) at the various fields measured for the brushes, particularly at at-risk fields (interproximal and gingival sulcus). Tapered filaments are superior to all tested brushes with flat trim and dual length bristle performing superior to the reference toothbrush, the dual length bristles being more effective compared to flat trim in horizontal and vertical movements. The reference toothbrush is less effective in almost all risk sites except in the vertical movement where it was superior.

Conclusions: Highly effective cleaning performance of these toothbrushes were measured at nearly all tested parameters. Overall the brushes with tapered bristles perform better than those with end rounded bristles only.