The Effectiveness of Manual versus High-Frequency, High-Amplitude Sonic Powered Toothbrushes for Oral Health: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the short-term clinical efficacy of high-frequency, high-amplitude sonic powered toothbrushes compared to manual toothbrushes on plaque removal and gingivitis reduction in everyday use through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. METHODS: Embase, MEDLINE, BIOSIS, Inspec, PQ SciTech, Compendex, SciSearch and IADR abstracts databases were searched. Eligible were clinical trials comparing at least one manual to one sonic powered toothbrush on plaque or gingivitis reduction over four weeks to three months in subjects without disability that could affect tooth brushing. Two authors selected and extracted data from eligible studies. When insufficient information was available, researchers were contacted. Data were pooled using random-effects models to compute standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) quantifying differences in plaque or gingivitis reduction. Risk for bias and sources of heterogeneity were assessed. RESULTS: The combined results of 18 studies comprising 1,870 subjects showed that sonic powered toothbrushes had statistically significantly greater plaque removal (SMD = -0.89, 95%CI = [-1.27, -0.51]) and gingivitis reduction (-0.67, [-1.01, -0.32]). Heterogeneity was large and bias was not apparent. CONCLUSIONS: High-frequency, high-amplitude sonic powered toothbrushes decreased plaque and gingivitis significantly more effectively than manual toothbrushes in everyday use in studies lasting up to three months.

A model for perception-based identification of sensitive skin.

BACKGROUND: With high prevalence of sensitive skin (SS), lack of strong evidence on pathomechanisms, consensus on associated symptoms, proof of existence of 'general' SS and tools to recruit subjects, this topic attracts increasing attention of research. OBJECTIVE: To create a model for selecting subjects in studies on SS by identifying a complete set of self-reported SS characteristics and factors discriminatively describing it. METHODS: A survey (n = 3058) was conducted, comprising questions regarding socio-demographics, atopy, skin characteristics, personal care, degree of self-assessed SS and subjective and objective reactions to endogenous and exogenous factors. Exploratory factor analysis on 481 questionnaires was performed to identify underlying dimensions and multivariate logistic regression to find contributing variables to the likelihood of reporting SS. RESULTS: The prevalence of SS was found to be 41%, and 56% of SS subjects reports a concomitant atopic condition. The most discriminative were the eliciting factors toiletries and emotions, and not specific skin symptoms in general. CONCLUSION: Triggers of different origins seem to elicit SS, it is not defined by concomitant skin diseases only, suggesting existence of 'general' SS. A multifactorial questionnaire could be a better diagnostic than a one-dimensional provocative test.