The relative plaque removal effect of a prebrushing mouthrinse.

A total of 51 adult subjects participated in a three-period crossover trial to test plaque-removal effectiveness of a prebrushing mouthrinse. Subjects refrained from brushing to allow plaque to accumulate for 24 hours before the test. The accumulated plaque was graded using Turesky's method. The subjects then used one of three treatment regimens, were retested for accumulated plaque and regraded. The three treatments tested were a commercial prebrushing mouthrinse and no toothbrushing; a commercial prebrushing mouthrinse and brushing with a dentifrice for 30 seconds; a prebrushing water rinse and brushing with a dentifrice for 30 seconds. The analysis of the data found that both groups that brushed removed significantly more plaque than the group that did not brush. However, both the prebrushing rinse group and the water rinse group achieved the same amount of plaque removal through 30 seconds of toothbrushing with a dentifrice.