Clinical plaque removal efficacy of three toothbrushes.

A single-blind, randomized clinical study compared plaque removal efficacy of three toothbrush designs under conditions simulating normal use. Ninety (90) subjects with substantially complete dentition used one of the three toothbrushes: Advanced Design Reach, Crest Complete and Oral-B 40. Subjects were examined for plaque before and after a single brushing using the Global Plaque Index to estimate plaque on the entire tooth surface, and the Proximal/Marginal Plaque Index (PMI), a new index, was used to estimate plaque at proximal and marginal surfaces of the teeth. The Advanced Design Reach toothbrush reduced plaque scores significantly more than did the other toothbrushes tested (p < 0.05) using either scoring method. At marginal and proximal sites, combined or separate, Advanced Design Reach toothbrush was significantly more effective than the other toothbrushes in plaque removal and produced significantly more plaque free sites than the other two toothbrushes. Evaluation of all anterior and posterior parts of the dentition with the Global Plaque Index indicated that Advanced Design Reach was superior in removing plaque in these regions. Both plaque indices were highly correlated (correlation coefficient 0.91) indicating excellent consistency by the dental examiner.