Specialized Toothbrush Effect on VSC, Bacteria and Desquamated Epithelial Cells

Objective: To clinically evaluate the effect on volatile-sulfur-compounds (VSC) measured by halimeter, total salivary bacteria, and desquamated epithelial cells (DEC) after using a specialized toothbrush containing a soft-tissue cleaning implement on the back of the toothbrush versus a modified version with the soft-tissue cleaning implement removed from the brush. Materials and Methods: Twenty adult subjects participated in the randomized, crossover study. VSC samples were collected at baseline and 2-hours post-use while total salivary bacteria and DEC samples were collected at baseline, 30-minutes, and 2-hours post-use. Saliva samples were obtained by rinsing with 10 mL of sterile saline for 10 seconds and collecting the expectorant. After baseline samplings, subjects brushed (1-minute) then rinsed (5-seconds) with 15mL of water. Three brushing regimens were followed: brushing teeth only with the modified version (B), brushing teeth only with the specialized brush (E), and brushing teeth with the specialized brush then cleaning the tongue for 10 seconds with the soft-tissue implement (T). Results: VSC reduction at 2-hours for treatment B, E, and T was -5.92 %, 9.98 %, and 27.58 % respectively. At 30-minutes, log reduction from baseline total salivary bacteria was 0.29 (B), 0.38 (E), and 0.59 (T). At 2-hours post-use, corresponding log reduction was 0.06, 0.28, and 0.45. DEC reduction from baseline for B, E, and T was 0.109, 0.344, and 0.407 at 30-minutes and 0.119, 0.380, and 0.371 at 2-hours relatively. T was significantly better (p<0.05) than B for all measured responses at 30-minutes and 2-hours. In addition, total salivary bacterial DNA quantification made with real-time PCR was similar to the results obtained from traditional plating techniques. Conclusion: The presence of the cleaning implement improves the performance of the specialized toothbrush in reducing VSC, total viable salivary bacteria, and DEC.