1983 Volume 25 Issue 3 Pages 562-574
The plaque-removing effect of five different types of toothbrushes was tested in a single blind cross-over trial. All brushes were used by the scrub method. Ten dentists with a normal dentition and clinically healthy periodontal tissue volunteered for this experiment. Percentage of plaque removal on the upper central incisors and the Plaque Control Record (O'Leary et al., 1972) were used as measures of comparison.
There were no statistically significant differences between five toothbrushes on the basis of percentage of plaque removal. But on the average, the best cleaning effect was found for the Perio II (H) toothbrush and G. U. M. #411 toothbrush. The former brush had the hardest nylon filaments and the latter brush had the highest number of filaments of the five brushes examined. An analysis of the P. C. R. demonstrated that the Perio M toothbrush, the largest in the size of the head, exhibited the poorest cleaning effect, especially on the buccal surfaces of the lower jaw (p<0.05).
It is considered from these results that the small head toothbrush with high number of hard filaments is effective on the plaque removal, but further studies will be needed.
