An 8-Week Clinical Comparison of an Oscillating-Rotating Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush and a Sonic Toothbrush in the Reduction of Gingivitis and Plaque.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate and compare the efficacy of a marketed oscillating-rotating electric rechargeable toothbrush to a marketed sonic toothbrush in the reduction of gingivitis and plaque over an 8-week period.

METHODS

This was a randomized, examiner-blind, parallel group, eight-week study. Subjects with presence of mild-to-moderate plaque and gingivitis received an oral examination and were evaluated for baseline gingivitis (Modified Gingival Index; MGI), gingival bleeding (Gingival Bleeding Index; GBI), and plaque (Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index). Qualified subjects were randomly assigned to an entry-level oscillating-rotating electric rechargeable brush handle (Oral-B® PRO 1000, D16U) with a round brush head with angled bristles (Oral-B® CrossAction, EB50) or a premium sonic brush (Philips Sonicare® Diamond Clean Toothbrush with AdaptiveClean brush head). One hundred and fifty subjects were instructed to brush twice daily with their assigned brush and a fluoride dentifrice for eight weeks before returning for an oral examination and gingivitis and plaque evaluations. The same methods were used at baseline and Week 8 for all evaluations.

RESULTS

One hundred and forty-eight subjects completed the study, 74 in each group. After eight weeks of use, both brushes reduced MGI, GBI, total number of bleeding sites, whole mouth plaque, gingival margin plaque, and proximal plaque (p < 0.001 for each). The oscillating-rotating brush provided statistically significantly greater reductions than the sonic brush for all gingivitis measures, with a 34.8%, 48.4%, and 42.6% greater reduction for MGI, GBI, and number of bleeding sites, respectively, after eight weeks of use (p < 0.001 for each). Significantly greater whole mouth (26.2%) and proximal (38.5%) plaque reductions were also demonstrated at Week 8 for the oscillating-rotating brush versus the sonic brush (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The entry-level oscillating-rotating brush performed better than the premium sonic brush in the reduction of plaque and gingivitis in this eight-week randomized and examiner-blind study.