Clinical plaque removal performance of two manual toothbrushes

A single-blind, cross-over design clinical study was conducted to compare the plaque removal efficacy of the Colgate Precision Full Head soft and the Crest Complete soft toothbrushes. A total of 72 adult male and female subjects who met the inclusion/exclusion criteria completed the study. Each subject refrained from brushing for 24 hours, and was screened for dental plaque on the facial and lingual surfaces of all natural teeth using the Rustogi, et al. refinement of the Modified Navy Plaque Index (Rustogi, et al. Index). Subjects were then stratified according to the MPI and randomly assigned to one of two groups. Subjects returned one week later having abstained from all oral hygiene procedures for a 24-hour period. At this visit, each subject was evaluated for plaque, then brushed with his/her assigned toothbrush for 60 seconds, and again scored for plaque after brushing. Subjects were instructed to resume their normal routine and return to the clinical site one week later. At this time, the alternate toothbrush was assigned to each group in a cross-over design. Plaque evaluations and toothbrushing procedures were again performed. Data were statistically analyzed, and the Colgate Precision toothbrush was demonstrated to be significantly more effective (p < 0.01) in removing whole mouth, gumline, and interproximal area plaque.