Hard tissue abrasivity of an automatic interdental plaque remover

This laboratory study was conducted to assess the safety of a new interdental cleaner, the Braun Oral-B Interclean (ID2), by measuring its abrasivity to dentin and comparing this with the abrasivity of a standard ADA manual toothbrush when used with and without dentifrice. Dentin abrasion was measured by a radioactive technique, using a modified ADA-recommended methodology. Dentin specimens to be used with the ID2 had a 2 mm hole drilled through them to represent the interproximal space, whereas dentin slabs were used in the toothbrush abrasivity tests. All specimens were placed in a controlled neutron flux. The dentin specimens were then immersed either in an abrasive dentifrice (Crest) slurry or a non-abrasive (water) solution, and an 8.5 minute treatment carried out. After testing, samples of treatment slurry or solution were put in a scintillation counter and mean net counts per minute (cpm) per gram of slurry or solution were calculated. With Crest dentifrice, the ID2 removed significantly less (p < or = 0.05) dentin (232 cpm/g) than the ADA reference manual toothbrush (789 cpm/g). Without dentifrice, neither the ID2 nor the manual toothbrush removed significant amounts of dentin, and dentin loss was similar for both devices.