Recent developments in dental plaque disclosants

The use of erythrosin and fluorescein for disclosing dental plaque in 81 children aged 11-14 years and in 17 young men is reported. Erythrosin stained all plaque. When fluroescein was used, plaque, whether mature or recently exposed to sugars was disclosed under ultra-violet light. In the children, the erythrosin stained approximately twice as extensively as fluorescein.