Abstract
Dental caries and periodontitis are two of the most important biofilm-associated infectious diseases in dentistry. Effective removal of dental biofilm is necessary for prevention of dental caries and periodontitis as dental biofilm is the main cause of these diseases. The most effective way of biofilm removal has been considered to be mechanical approach, such as daily toothbrushing. Some studies reported that electric toothbrushes can remove more effectively than manual toothbrushes. However, electric toothbrushes have to be moved along a row of teeth by hands as well as manual toothbrushes. It is often difficult to move a toothbrush for elder and/or handicapped people. Therefore, a full automatic electric toothbrush, named g. eN, was newly developed by Genics Co., Ltd., a venture company associated with Waseda University. The efficacy of this full automatic toothbrush was investigated by modified O’Leary’s Plaque Control Record (PCR), which evaluates six sections instead of conventional four surfaces, for a simple semi-quantitative evaluation. The results showed a significant decrease in PCR scores after brushing compared to before brushing both full-mouth and in each of the six blocks of dentition. The mean PCR score after 220 seconds of brushing using the g.eN prototype automatic toothbrush used in this study was 22.4%. This score is considered to be enough to maintain oral hygiene. This study suggests that the full automatic electric toothbrush is useful to remove dental biofilm and maintain oral health.
