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Testing the efficacy of 2 prototype brush heads for a powered toothbrush: refining the model
G I McCracken1, L Heasman, F Stacey
1Restorative Dentistry, Dental School, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Journal of Clinical Periodontology
|February 16, 2002
Summary
Prototype toothbrush head design B significantly outperformed the Sensiflex 2000 in removing plaque at full mouth and interproximal sites. This study demonstrates a powerful clinical trial model for evaluating powered toothbrush efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Oral hygiene research
- Dental product development
Background:
- Assessing the efficacy of powered toothbrush (PTB) heads is crucial for improving oral hygiene.
- Marketed PTB heads serve as benchmarks for evaluating new designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the plaque removal efficacy of two prototype PTB heads (A and B) against a marketed head (Sensiflex 2000) on the Philips/Jordan HX2550 PTB.
Main Methods:
- A 2-week, single-blind trial involving 78 volunteers aged 18-25.
- Plaque indices (PI) were measured using a modified Quigley & Hein Index before and after supervised brushing episodes.
- Statistical analysis (ANOVA/t-tests) compared PI reductions between groups.
Main Results:
- Prototype design B showed highly significant plaque reduction compared to Sensiflex 2000 at full mouth and interproximal sites (p<0.0001).
- Prototype design A demonstrated greater plaque reduction than Sensiflex 2000, with some significant differences (p<0.05).
- No significant baseline differences in PI were observed between groups.
Conclusions:
- The clinical trial model effectively demonstrated superiority in plaque removal for PTB designs.
- Prototype design B exhibits superior plaque-removing capabilities compared to the Sensiflex 2000.
- This trial methodology is suitable for testing and validating new PTB head designs.