A retrospective of normal oral healthcare procedures vs. power brush/jet lavage with a corroborative study

The efficacy of power brushes and/or oral irrigating devices in comparison to manual brushing has been the subject of study and controversial results for some thirty years. Recently, a well-designed study has reported that carefully taught, consistently reinforced and monitored toothbrushing combined with necessary professional intervention is as effective as power brushing with and without oral lavage. Because the usual individual in the work-a-day world cannot or will not indulge regularly in these elaborate procedures, a simple, small sample test of comparative efficacy was done and submitted to a paired analysis. Results demonstrated that not only are these power devices as good as demonstrated by the reported studies, but also are superior for the type of patient most often encountered in daily practice--the person who does not or who cannot comply completely with instructions and who cannot constantly be monitored for compliance.