Plaque removal by professional electric toothbrushing compared with professional polishing

Area of Science:

• Dental hygiene
• Oral prophylaxis
• Preventive dentistry

Background:

• Professional teeth cleaning is crucial for oral health.
• Electric toothbrushes (ETBs) are increasingly used for plaque removal.
• Comparing the efficacy of ETB use versus traditional polishing methods is important for clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the plaque removal efficacy of professional brushing with an electric toothbrush (ETB) versus professional polishing.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of different durations of ETB use.

Main Methods:

• A parallel examiner-blind study involved 90 participants.
• Participants underwent an initial oral prophylaxis to ensure a clean baseline.
• Three groups were formed: 10 min polishing, 2 min ETB brushing, and 10 min ETB brushing. Plaque levels were assessed before and after treatment.

Main Results:

• All groups showed significant plaque reduction.
• 10 minutes of ETB brushing resulted in 99.4% plaque removal, significantly higher than polishing (94.8%) and 2 min ETB brushing (94.2%).
• The superior efficacy of 10 min ETB brushing was attributed to better plaque removal from approximal surfaces and molars.

Conclusions:

• Professional polishing for 10 minutes is comparable in efficacy to 2 minutes of professional ETB brushing.
• 10 minutes of professional ETB brushing offers superior plaque removal compared to polishing and shorter ETB durations.
• These findings support the use of longer-duration ETB for enhanced plaque control in professional settings.