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Different powered toothbrushes for plaque control and gingival health
Scott A Deacon1, Anne-Marie Glenny, Chris Deery
1South West Cleft Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Frenchay Park Road, Bristol, UK, BS16 1LE.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|December 15, 2010
Summary
This review found no definitive evidence that one powered toothbrush mode is superior to others for plaque and gingivitis reduction. More high-quality trials are needed to compare different powered toothbrushing methods.
Area of Science:
- Dental hygiene
- Oral health research
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Powered toothbrushes emerged commercially in the 1960s.
- A prior systematic review indicated powered toothbrushes outperform manual ones for plaque and gingivitis.
- However, that review did not directly compare different powered toothbrush modes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare various powered toothbrush modes against each other.
- To assess efficacy in reducing plaque and improving gingival health.
- To evaluate secondary outcomes including calculus/stain removal, cost, dependability, and adverse effects.
Main Methods:
- Searched multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL) up to July 2010 without language restrictions.
- Included randomized controlled trials of unsupervised powered toothbrushing for at least 4 weeks in participants without compromised manual dexterity.
- Extracted data independently, contacted authors for missing information, and used standardized mean differences with random-effects models for meta-analysis.
Main Results:
- Included 15 trials with 1015 participants.
- Insufficient trials comparing identical powered toothbrush modes prevented definitive conclusions on superiority.
- Reported side effects were minor and transient; cost and dependability data were not available.
Conclusions:
- Further high-quality trials are necessary.
- To definitively establish if any powered toothbrush mode offers superiority over others.
- To guide clinical recommendations and consumer choices.
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