Comparative Plaque Removal Efficacy of a New Powered Toothbrush and a Manual Toothbrush.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the plaque removal effectiveness of a new powered toothbrush and compare it to that of a manual brush. METHODS This examiner-blind, randomized study used a cross-over design. Sixty-two (62) qualifying subjects were randomly assigned either to the powered brush (Arm & Hammer Spinbrush™ Truly Radiant™ Clean & Fresh Battery-Powered Toothbrush), or a standard manual toothbrush (ADA Standard Manual Toothbrush) and instructed to brush at home with a standard fluoride toothpaste twice daily for two minutes during a one-week familiarization period. At the end of this period, the subjects returned to the study site. After refraining from oral hygiene for 12-16 hours and from eating and drinking for four hours, plaque was disclosed by rinsing with an erythrosine dye solution and scored using the Rustogi Modification of the Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI). Subjects then brushed under supervision with their assigned toothbrush for two minutes, and plaque was disclosed and rescored. They were then given the alternate toothbrush, and the familiarization routine and evaluation process were repeated. The primary outcome variable was mean whole mouth RMNPI score with additional analyses performed on regional subsets of tooth surfaces. RESULTS Within-group analysis showed that both toothbrushes produced statistically significant reductions from the pre-brushing baseline in whole mouth and regional plaque scores (p < 0.01), with respective whole mouth reductions of 40.7% and 24.9% for the powered brush and the manual brush. Between-group analyses showed that the powered brush produced a statistically significantly greater plaque reduction than the manual brush, both whole mouth (63.7%, p < 0.0001) and at all 12 subsets of sites. CONCLUSIONS When evaluated using this single-use clinical model, the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Truly Radiant Clean & Fresh powered toothbrush was statistically significantly more effective in reducing plaque than the manual toothbrush, both whole mouth and at all regional subsets of tooth surfaces, including difficult-to-reach sites.