2012 Volume 55 Issue 4 Pages 247-254
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy in plaque removal of a newly developed toothbrush, which has a curved handle and long neck. Methods: The subjects included in this study were students at The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Niigata, Niigata, Japan. They were instructed in brushing by the scrubbing method. The test toothbrushes included the following: Toothbrushes A, B and C had flat bristles, while Toothbrushes D, E and F had ripple bristles. In addition, Toothbrushes A and D had a curved handle and long neck, Toothbrushes B and E had a straight handle, and Toothbrushes C and F had a conventional handle. After the subjects brushed their teeth with the test toothbrushes, we examined the efficacy in plaque removal and their acceptance. The efficacy in plaque removal was determined as the percentage (%) reduction of plaque score. Results: The highest reduction of plaque score was Toothbrush A (69.7%). The reduction of plaque score of Toothbrushes D, E, and B were 69.1, 60.3%, and 53.8%, respectively. The results suggested that the curved handle and long neck toothbrush showed better plaque reduction than the others. However, at occlusal surface areas, Toothbrush D showed a higher percentage plaque reduction compared with Toothbrush A. Regarding the questionnaire results, Toothbrush D revealed a higher score of acceptance. Conclusion: The results suggested that the handle and neck length of the toothbrush affected the acceptance in brushing, by improving the ease of using the toothbrush including brushing pressure.
