comparative evaluation of tooth wipe and manual toothbrush on reduction of microbial plaque

background and aim. the toothbrush is the most widely used tooth-hygiene tool, and numerous designs have been manufactured, claiming superior plaque removal. this study aimed at comparing the efficacy of a tooth wipe to a manual toothbrush on reduction of microbial plaque. materials and methods. this crossover study was conducted on 30 subjects at two visits with one-week interval. before each visit, individuals refrained from brushing teeth for 12 hours, had their regular meal, and then avoided to eat hard and/or soft foodstuff. subjects were asked to brush their teeth with the allocated toothbrush (without toothpaste) using the bass technique for 2 minutes at first visit and with the alternate toothbrush at the second visit. pre- and post-brushing plaque was measured for total, proximal and buccolingual surfaces using the o’leary plaque index. paired t-test was used to analyze data. results. the overall plaque indices were significantly reduced with the tooth wipe and the manual brush (p = 0.000). there were no significant differences between tooth wipe and manual brush for removing plaque at total surfaces (46.01 ± 17.2% vs. 47.73 ± 17.04%, p = 0.75) and proximal surfaces (28.76 ± 23.15% vs. 43.71 ± 23.77%, p = 0.06). however, the plaque reduction at buccolingual surfaces by tooth wipe was significantly higher than that by manual brush (79.37 ± 23.54% vs. 56.83 ± 22.33%, p = 0.001). conclusion. the results indicate the tooth wipe is as effective as the manual toothbrush and can be used for marinating oral hygiene.