Laboratory efficacy of three compact toothbrushes to reduce artificial plaque in hard to reach areas

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of three toothbrushes [GUM Summit+Compact Head, GUM Technique Deep Clean Compact Head, and Oral-B Indicator 35 (compact head)] on plaque reduction in difficult to reach areas: interproximal sites (Interproximal Access Efficacy, IAE), the gingival margin (Gingival Margin Cleaning, GMC) and under the gumline (Subgingival Access Efficacy, SAE). Methods: Six toothbrushes from each product group were randomly tested four times for a total of 24 tests on each toothbrush design. In the IAE studies, toothbrushing was conducted for 15 seconds using horizontal and vertical brushing motions, simulated anterior and posterior teeth and a brushing pressure of 250 g. IAE was recorded as the maximum width of artificial plaque removed. In the GMC and SAE assays, the toothbrush to be tested was aligned with the papillae of artificial gingiva placed over simulated posterior teeth and brushing was conducted for 15 seconds using horizontal brushing and a brushing pressure of 500 g. The GMC efficacy was recorded as the maximum length of artificial plaque removed at the gingival margin. The maximum depth of the plaque substrate removed under the gingiva was recorded as the SAE. Significant mean differences between the toothbrushes were determined using ANOVA and Tukey's test for pairwise comparisons with a significance level of P< 0.05. Results: In all three assays conducted, the GUM Summit+Compact Head and GUM Technique Deep Clean Compact Head toothbrushes had significantly higher efficacy means compared to the Oral-B Indicator 35 (compact head) toothbrush. There was no significant difference in efficacy between the GUM Summit+Compact Head and GUM Technique Deep Clean Compact Head toothbrushes in the testing performed.