IADR Abstract Archives
Influence of Size of Toothbrush Head on Oral Hygiene Indices
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of two manual toothbrushes with different size of brush head in a randomized controlled trial after eight weeks.
Methods: Sixty healthy volunteers (30 females, 30 males) took part in the parallel-design examiner-blind study. After screening examination and stratification by age, sex, and papillary bleeding index (PBI), participants were randomly assigned to two groups (n=30 each): group 1 (TePe select, brush head 25.8x11.6mm), group 2 (TePe compact, brush head 21.2x9.6mm). Subjects were advised to brush with the assigned toothbrush two times/day for two minutes each using the modified Bass-technique. All participants used the same toothpaste (Colgate Total). At baseline, after four and eight weeks, the Quigley-Hein plaque index (QHI), the modified proximal plaque index (mAPI), and the PBI were recorded. Changes between baseline and four weeks and between baseline and eight weeks were calculated as medians. The null hypothesis was that the toothbrush with the small head would lead to better results. Kruskal-Wallis- and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Between baseline and four weeks the following changes (median, positive values are improvements) were found (QHI, mAPI, PBI): group 1: 0.071, 0.091, 0.222; group 2: 0.178, 0.042, 0.092. Between baseline and eight weeks, the respective changes were as following: group 1: 0.214, -0.055, 0.426; group 2: 0.134, -0.038, 0.178. No statistical significant difference was found with respect to QHI and mAPI between groups. However, the improvements in PBI were statistically significant higher in group 1 after four and eight weeks (p<0.05). Therefore, the null hypotheses was rejected.
Conclusions: The toothbrush with larger brush head was superior to the commonly recommended short-headed toothbrush with respect to PBI and not different with respect to plaque indices after four and eight weeks of use. Consequently, the recommendation of short headed toothbrushes might be questioned.
Methods: Sixty healthy volunteers (30 females, 30 males) took part in the parallel-design examiner-blind study. After screening examination and stratification by age, sex, and papillary bleeding index (PBI), participants were randomly assigned to two groups (n=30 each): group 1 (TePe select, brush head 25.8x11.6mm), group 2 (TePe compact, brush head 21.2x9.6mm). Subjects were advised to brush with the assigned toothbrush two times/day for two minutes each using the modified Bass-technique. All participants used the same toothpaste (Colgate Total). At baseline, after four and eight weeks, the Quigley-Hein plaque index (QHI), the modified proximal plaque index (mAPI), and the PBI were recorded. Changes between baseline and four weeks and between baseline and eight weeks were calculated as medians. The null hypothesis was that the toothbrush with the small head would lead to better results. Kruskal-Wallis- and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Between baseline and four weeks the following changes (median, positive values are improvements) were found (QHI, mAPI, PBI): group 1: 0.071, 0.091, 0.222; group 2: 0.178, 0.042, 0.092. Between baseline and eight weeks, the respective changes were as following: group 1: 0.214, -0.055, 0.426; group 2: 0.134, -0.038, 0.178. No statistical significant difference was found with respect to QHI and mAPI between groups. However, the improvements in PBI were statistically significant higher in group 1 after four and eight weeks (p<0.05). Therefore, the null hypotheses was rejected.
Conclusions: The toothbrush with larger brush head was superior to the commonly recommended short-headed toothbrush with respect to PBI and not different with respect to plaque indices after four and eight weeks of use. Consequently, the recommendation of short headed toothbrushes might be questioned.