Interproximal access efficacy of one vibrating and two powered oscillating-rotating toothbrushes

A new toothbrush, with elongated fine bristles and a vibrating bristle field, has been designed and developed. In this study, the new product was compared to two commercially available powered, oscillating-rotating toothbrushes for efficacy using a laboratory method that has been predictive of clinical plaque removal.

Interproximal access efficacy (IAE) is a measure of the ability of toothbrush bristles to access interproximal sites and remove simulated plaque from these areas. In this assay, an artificial plaque-covered pressure-sensitive substrate was placed around anterior- and posterior-shaped teeth, and tooth brushing was conducted using both horizontal and vertical brushing motions. Three toothbrushes were evaluated: the new toothbrush, Aquafresh Between Teeth Buzz (also marketed as Dr.BEST Vibration Zwischenzahn) and two powered toothbrushes with oscillating-rotating brush heads (Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean and Oral-B Professional Care 6000). Twenty-four tests on each product group were conducted, and results for all brushing comparisons were statistically analyzed using Tukey's test for pair-wise comparisons, with a significance level of alpha = 0.05.

In all tests conducted, the Aquafresh Between Teeth Buzz toothbrush was consistently and statistically superior to the Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean and Oral-B Professional Care 6000 products (p < 0.05).

The new toothbrush tested had significantly higher overall efficacy in the IAE assay compared to two marketed powered products. Based on the demonstrated efficacy and the predictability of this laboratory IAE assay, the new toothbrush should provide effective cleansing of the dental interproximal sites.