White L
Am J Orthod. 1984 Dec;86(6):507-15. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9416(84)90357-9.
This study was designed to see if toothbrush pressure could be considered a significant factor in the reduction of plaque among a group of orthodontic patients. Eleven orthodontic patients who had been identified previously as having chronic poor oral hygiene and the ability to tolerate only small toothbrush pressures (an average of 3 oz) were selected to participate in this study. At the beginning of the study, each of the patients was supplied with a specialized toothbrush feedback mechanism that was to be used in the routine home care. The feedback mechanism permitted the patients to gradually increase their tolerance to toothbrush pressure by moving from a target pressure of 2 oz to a target pressure of 16 oz over a period of several weeks. When the target pressure was reached, a light on the end of the brush mechanism came on, thus alerting the patient that the target had been reached. Only one of the eleven patients failed to improve her plaque score. There was, on the average, a 47% reduction in plaque scores. The statistical evidence indicates that the improved plaque scores were directly related to the higher toothbrush pressures. The present study was undertaken as an extension of a previous study that indicated good orthodontic toothbrushers used four and one half times more pressure than did chronically poor toothbrushers. This study suggests that poor toothbrushers can improve their oral hygiene significantly by increasing the pressure with which they brush.
本研究旨在探讨在一组正畸患者中，牙刷压力是否可被视为减少牙菌斑的一个重要因素。选取了11名正畸患者，这些患者先前被认定为口腔卫生长期较差，且只能耐受较小的牙刷压力（平均3盎司），参与本研究。在研究开始时，为每位患者提供了一种专门的牙刷反馈装置，用于日常家庭护理。该反馈装置使患者能够在数周时间内，将牙刷压力从目标压力2盎司逐渐提高到目标压力16盎司，从而逐渐提高对牙刷压力的耐受性。当达到目标压力时，牙刷装置末端的灯会亮起，以此提醒患者已达到目标。11名患者中只有1名患者的牙菌斑评分没有改善。牙菌斑评分平均降低了47%。统计证据表明，牙菌斑评分的改善与更高的牙刷压力直接相关。本研究是作为之前一项研究的扩展进行的，之前的研究表明，正畸患者中刷牙习惯良好者使用的压力是长期刷牙习惯差者的4.5倍。本研究表明，刷牙习惯差的人可以通过增加刷牙时的压力来显著改善口腔卫生。
