A comparative study of two powered toothbrushes and one manual toothbrush in young adults.

The aim of this 3-group, 3-treatment, single-blind, parallel group study was to evaluate and compare the efficacies of the Philips/Jordan HP735 powered toothbrush, the Braun/Oral-B D7 powered toothbrush, and the Oral-B Advantage B35 manual toothbrush in young adults (18-25 years). Full mouth mean (SD) modified Turesky Plaque Index (PI) and the Löe & Silness Gingival Index (GI) were recorded at baseline. After 24 hours abstinence from oral hygiene, the PI was recorded and each subject was given one of the test brushes with detailed instructions for use. Each subject then brushed under supervision for 90 seconds, during which time mean (SD) toothbrushing forces (TBF) were recorded. PIs were recorded immediately after brushing, and the subjects were then discharged for 6 weeks to use the allocated toothbrush at home. After 6 weeks, PI, GI and TBF were again recorded. There were no significant differences (ANOVA) for PI and GI between groups at baseline, or for PI following brushing at 24 hours. After 6 weeks, the powered brushes produced lower mean PI (SD) scores than the manual brushes, but the differences were significant only at interproximal sites. Mean GI scores for the HP735 group were similar at baseline and at 6 weeks, although for the other brushes the GI scores actually increased over this period. Mean (SD) TBF (grams/force) at baseline and 6 weeks, respectively, for the brushes were; HP735 233 (205), D7 159 (58), B35 279 (122) (p = 0.026): HP735 194 (86), D7 141 (57), B35 297 (113) (p = 0.0001). The within-group variability for the HP735 TBF reduced considerably over 6 weeks, which is possibly because of the click-force threshold feature of this brush.