Abstract
The purpose of the present clinical crossover trial was to compare the feeling, plaque removal and bacterial counts after mouth cleaning by toothbrushing with or without dentifrices when using dentifrices containing foaming agents or not. The examiner was blind to the subjects' treatment; 64 subjects in two groups (one consisted of 38 workers at an enterprise and another consisted of 26 first-year students at a junior college for education of dental hygienists) completed the study. Influences of four types of mouth cleaning methods (A〜D) were assessed: A was toothbrushing with a foaming agent-containing dentifrice; B was with dentifrice not containing any foaming agents; C was with water alone; and D was with a dentifrice routinely used by each subject. Comparison of pre- and post-brushing (with water alone) feeling scores showed a statistically significant increase when brushing with dentifrice ; increase in scores of feeling and plaque removal effectiveness and decreased oral bacterial counts in saliva collected immediately after mouth cleaning were more evident in brushing with foaming agent-containing dentifrices than that with dentifrices in the absence of a foaming agent. The scores (feeling, plaque removal effectiveness and bacterial counts) tested were maintained even if a small amount of dentifrice with foaming agents was used. The plaque re-growth inhibition was dependent on the amount of dentifrice measured (from 0.23 g up to 1.66 g); the foaming agents enhanced the observed effect. It can be concluded that under the conditions of this study, brushing with foaming agent-containing dentifrices is effective for mouth cleaning.
