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Objectives: The present study assessed whether 3-month-old used manual toothbrushes are less effective in reducing plaque scores compared with new toothbrushes with or without the use of dentifrice., Material and Methods: The present study was performed employing a single-use, examiner-blinded, professional brushing model. Four brushing modalities were randomly allocated to one of four quadrants, that is, 3-month-old used toothbrushes and new toothbrushes both with and without the use of dentifrice. Prebrushing and post-brushing plaque scores (Quigley Hein plaque index) and gingival abrasion (GA) scores were obtained. A dental hygienist performed the professional brushing procedure. The 3-month-old used toothbrushes were assessed for wear., Results: No significant differences were observed among the treatments with regard to the prebrushing scores. The post-brushing plaque scores ranged from 1.59 for the new brush with dentifrice to 1.76 for the old brush with dentifrice. There was a significant difference (P = 0.036) among the four treatments regarding the old brush with dentifrice, which removed less plaque than the other treatment modalities. Regarding GA scores, no significant differences were observed. With regard to toothbrush wear after 3 months of use, the scores varied widely among the individually evaluated brushes., Conclusion: The present study did not show a clinically relevant difference in plaque score reductions following a 2-minute brushing exercise among 3-month-old used and new manual toothbrushes. However, the wear rate of the brushes seemed to be the determining factor in loss of efficacy, rather than the age of the toothbrush. Furthermore, dentifrice did not show an additional effect on instant plaque removal., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Aim: The present study assessed whether gingivitis and plaque scores of 8- to 11-year-old school children who participated in a SBTB programme for 2 years were lower than those of children who did not participate in the programme., Material and Methods: The present study was performed using an examiner-blind, parallel group design and was performed in Burma (Myanmar) in 2006. Three of the five schools where daily SBTB programmes took place after lunch and which were performed under teacher supervision were randomly selected; three non-participating schools (non-SBTB) from the same area were assigned as controls. Twenty-five children per school were examined for gingivitis (bleeding on marginal probing) and plaque (Quigley & Hein)., Results: In total, 150 8- to 11-year-old children participated, with 75 children in either group. The test group (SBTB) exhibited an overall mean bleeding score of 0.76. For the control group (non-SBTB), this score was 0.83. With respect to the overall mean plaque scores, the test group exhibited a score of 2.93, whereas the control group exhibited a score of 2.91. No statistically significant differences between the test and the control group were observed., Conclusion: The present study did not reveal a statistically significant effect of daily SBTB programmes in 8- to 11-year-old school children with respect to gingivitis and plaque scores., (© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy and safety of a newly designed multi-level manual toothbrush (Profit-Haije-Brush) compared with a control flat-trimmed manual reference toothbrush from the American Dental Association (ADA)., Material and Methods: For this study, 36 healthy subjects without previous experience in the use of the Profit-Haije-Brush (PHB) were selected. Subjects were given a period of 2 weeks to become familiar with both types of brushes and were instructed to use them on alternate days for 2 min twice daily. Prior to their visit, subjects refrained from all oral hygiene procedures for 48 h. Prebrushing plaque and gingival abrasion scores were assessed. Subsequently, two randomly chosen contra-lateral quadrants were brushed with one of both brushes and the other two quadrants with the alternate brush. Subjects were supervised during their 2-min brushing exercise. After brushing, plaque and gingival abrasion were re-assessed. A questionnaire was filled out to investigate the subjects' attitudes towards both brushes., Results: The overall mean prebrushing PI was 2.47 for the PHB and 2.44 for the ADA. The reduction in PI was 1.32 and 1.23 respectively (P < 0.05). With regard to gingival abrasion the overall mean prebrushing scores were 4.57 (PHB) and 5.34 (ADA). Post-brushing scores were 13.49 and 13.77 for the PHB and ADA respectively., Conclusion: Statistically, the multi-level PHB was significantly more efficacious than the flat-trimmed ADA. However, the difference is clinically considered small and the amount of remaining plaque was not significantly different between brushes. No greater potential to cause gingival abrasion to the oral tissues was observed., (© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an oscillating/rotating/pulsating powered toothbrush on plaque and gingivitis prevention over a 9-month period., Methods: The study had an examiner-masked, randomized, three-group parallel design. A total of 122 subjects >or= 18 years of age in good general health and with at least five teeth per quadrant and no pockets >or= 5 mm were included. A 3-week preexperimental period of extensive oral home care, including rinses, was started to improve gingival health. Professional oral hygiene instruction with a manual brush was provided. At baseline, subjects were assigned to one of three regimens: twice daily brushing with a manual toothbrush, a manual toothbrush and the use of floss, or a powered toothbrush. Subjects were professionally instructed in their regimen and given a prophylaxis. Two weeks later, oral hygiene reinforcement was provided. Gingival bleeding, plaque, staining, and gingival abrasion were assessed during the preexperimental period and at baseline, 10 weeks, and 6 and 9 months., Results: There was a significant reduction in plaque and gingivitis from the preexperimental period to baseline. At 10 weeks and 6 and 9 months, the level of plaque was statistically significantly lower with the powered toothbrush versus the other two regimens (P

There is inconclusive evidence about the relationship between toothbrush wear and plaque removal. This randomized cross-over clinical trial aimed to validate or invalidate non-inferiority in the plaque-removal efficacy of old vs. new toothbrushes in the hands of 7- and 8-year-old children. The lower limit for non-inferiority was set a priori as a difference in plaque score<15%. Children (n=101) brushed, in the first session, with either their 14-month-old toothbrush or a new one, and in the second session vice versa. The mean Quigley-Hein plaque score, before and after children brushed with old brushes, was 2.9 and 2.4, and with new brushes 2.8 and 2.1. The plaque score after they brushed with the new toothbrush was 10.9% lower (p<0.001) than after they brushed with the old toothbrush. The confidence interval of 7.6%-13.9% was within the acceptance band (<15%), and non-inferiority of old toothbrushes in the hands of these children was validated.

The establishment of S. mutans together with A. viscosus was investigated in dental plaque of specific pathogen-free (SPF) rats fed different carbohydrate diets. Two Tanzanian S.mutans strains MM3 and MM24 and one Tanzanian A. viscosus strain MM13 were used for this purpose. The basic diet consisting of 32% skim-milk, 7% yeast extract and 1% soy bean oil was supplemented with either 10% lactose and 50% corn flour, or 10% glucose and 50% corn flour, or 60% amylum or 60% wheat flour. S. mutans and A. viscosus were enumerated twenty days after inoculation. S. mutans counts were high irrespective of the dietary regime. A. viscosus counts in the glucose, lactose and amylum groups were of the same magnitude and significantly higher than those of the wheat flour group. The hypothesis that the establishment of S. mutans in sucrose free diets could be facilitated by the extracellular polysaccharides produced by A. viscosus was not supported by the present data. The finding that S. mutans can establish in high number in dental plaque of SPF rats in the absence of sucrose corroborates previous reports indicating high S. mutans counts in African populations with a low sucrose intake.

The oral hygiene of habitual chewing stick and toothbrush users who participated in an oral health education (OHE) programme in schools was evaluated. The study comprised all chewing stick users (n = 45) in standard 4 in 8 randomly selected experimental schools and all chewing stick users (n = 17) in standard 4 in 4 randomly selected control schools. Each chewing stick user was randomly matched with a toothbrush user of the same sex, age and school. Their ages ranged from 10 to 13 years with a mean of 11.5 years. The children in standard 4 of the 8 experimental schools received OHE. Among many topics aiming to improve oral health of children, the practice of systematic brushing was taught. The children practised weekly brushing sessions in schools under the supervision of instructed teachers. At baseline, the chewing stick users exhibited statistically significant more plaque, but their gingival condition was comparable with their matched toothbrush counter-parts. After 3 months, the chewing stick and the toothbrush users in the experimental schools, had reduced their plaque and gingival bleeding scores significantly to the same extent, whereas no substantial changes in oral hygiene occurred in the control group. The findings show that schoolchildren who participated in a school programme that emphasizes effective toothbrushing were able to improve their oral hygiene regardless of whether they were habitual chewing stick or toothbrush users.

Plaque samples from caries-active subjects showed a higher incidence of S. mutans than plaque samples from caries-free subjects. This was especially evident in approximal incisor plaque. S. mutans serotype d was almost exclusively present in approximal plaque obtained from caries-active subjects. Tooth surfaces infected with S. mutans still harbored this micro-organism 10 months later, while uninfected tooth surfaces remained free of S. mutans. Caries development predominantly occurs on those tooth surfaces which harbor relatively high percentages of S. mutans (> 5%). It is unlikely that serum or saliva antibodies against S. mutans play a major role in the protection against dental caries in these caries-free subjects since subjects with the greatest number of decayed surfaces showed the highest antibody titre as measured by haemagglutination or by the enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).

A selective medium was developed on which both major subgroups of Strep. mutans (c/e/f and d/g) can be cultured and recognized on the basis of colonial morphology, Trypticase, yeast, cystine (TYC) agar was modified by adding separately autoclaved sucrose to a final concentration of 20 per cent and 0.1 unit/ml bacitracin (TYCSB). This medium yielded significantly higher counts of Strep. mutans than the widely used mitis-salivarius bacitracin (MSB) medium.