Whitening Effects Using an Electric Toothbrush versus a Manual Toothbrush

Objectives:  The objective of this in-vitro study was to evaluate the whitening effects of using a power toothbrush versus a manual toothbrush.  Methods:  Colgate® ProClinical^TM A1500 electric toothbrush (ETB) with the triple clean head was compared to a manual toothbrush (Oral-B Indicator Soft Regular, MT) using a modification of the of the Pellicle Cleaning Ratio procedure developed by Stookey et al.  Forty-eight stained bovine teeth were stratified into six equal groups having balanced average baseline L*a*b* stain scores.  Each group was assigned to one of the test products - 1% Hydrogen Peroxide and Sodium Monofluorphosphate 1000 ppm (OW); Sodium Fluoride 1100 ppm, 0.3% Triclosan (CT); or Sodium Monofluorophosphate 1000 ppm (CR) and one of the toothbrushes.  Enamel blocks were positioned on a brushing machine.  The specimens were brushed for 800 double strokes at a rate of 200 strokes/min, simulating four weeks of brushing using a V-8 mechanical cross-brushing machine adjusted to 150 grams pressure for the ETB and 250 grams pressure for the MTB. Dentifrices were tested as slurries (25 grams of dentifrice with 40 grams of deionized water). Following brushing, the specimens were rinsed and dried for 30 minutes. Three color readings were performed for each sample with the spectrophotometer and averaged.  Results:  The ETB in combination with the OW or the CT toothpaste removed significantly (p<0.05) more stain (DW) than the ETB with the CR toothpaste (81 ± 11.4 OW, 54.8 ± 9.4 CT, 28.2 ± 9.3 CR).  The ETB with OW and CT TP removed statistically more stain than the MTB with the same TP. Conclusion:  The use of an ETB with a toothpaste designed  to whiten teeth shows an improved stain reduction compared to a manual brush using the same toothpastes