A laboratory investigation of stain removal from enamel surface: comparative efficacy of three electric toothbrushes

To evaluate in a controlled laboratory investigation the efficacy of three electric toothbrushes with respect to removal of extrinsic dental stain from labial enamel surfaces of bovine permanent central incisors.

Enamel specimens were treated to produce a uniformly stained pellicle film. Staining was assessed photometrically, before and after brushing 16 specimens per group for 4.5 minutes with either the Braun Oral-B Plaque Remover (D7), the Braun Oral-B Ultra Plaque Remover (D9) or a high frequency electric toothbrush. A manual brush with the ADA reference abrasive was used as a positive control, and this was compared with the three electric toothbrushes, using a dentifrice slurry prepared from Crest toothpaste. Tension on the enamel specimens was set at 150 g, except for the high frequency toothbrush which was set at the manufacturer's recommended tension of 50 g. Stain removal was expressed as a cleaning ratio (CR), where larger values represented greater removal of stained pellicle.

Compared with the ADA control (CR = 100), the D9 was the most effective (CR = 98) removing significantly more stain (P < 0.05) than the D7 (CR = 74). The high frequency toothbrush was found to be the least effective (CR = 48), removing significantly less stain than any of the other toothbrushes (P < 0.05).