Plaque removal using a battery-powered toothbrush compared to a manual toothbrush.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of battery-powered tooth brushing in removing plaque in Kuwaiti children. METHODOLOGY: The subjects were 30 boys, aged 9-11 years. Prior to the start of the study, the children had never used a battery-powered toothbrush. At baseline, plaque accumulation was assessed for manual tooth brushing and battery-powered tooth brushing (Oral-B Kids battery-powered). All subjects then used the battery-powered toothbrush for two weeks at home. Plaque accumulation was again assessed for both manual and battery-powered tooth brushing. Plaque accumulation was assessed using the Soparkar modification of the Quigley-Hein Plaque Index. Differences in pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque, and change from baseline, were the outcome measures evaluated. RESULTS: At baseline, there was no difference in plaque removal between battery-powered tooth brushing and manual tooth brushing, either in difference between pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque measures (p = 0.44) or in percentage change (p = 0.51). After two weeks of use, there was a statistically significant difference in plaque removal between battery-powered tooth brushing and manual tooth brushing, both in the difference between pre- and post-tooth brushing plaque measures (p = 0.01) and in percentage change (p = 0.006). Mean plaque removal by manual tooth brushing was 0.97 +/- 0.45, and mean plaque removal by battery-powered toothbrush was 1.23 +/- 0.56. Mean percentage change in plaque removal by manual tooth brushing was 33.5 +/- 16.05, and mean plaque removal by battery-powered tooth brushing was 43.0 +/- 18.82, which represented a 9.5% improvement for battery-powered tooth brushing compared to manual tooth brushing. CONCLUSION: After two weeks use of a battery-powered toothbrush, the plaque removal was enhanced compared to baseline and to manual tooth brushing. Battery-powered tooth brushing also enhanced manual tooth brushing ability.

Movement of artificial teeth in waxed trial dentures.

Movements of artificial teeth during the wax trial denture stage was investigated in three dimensions by means of a traveling microscope. Fixed points of reference were devised for accurate measurements of teeth movements. Porcelain and plastic anterior and posterior teeth set in five wax trial dentures were tested at 2, 4, 7, and 24 hours. Tooth movements in wax trial dentures invariably occurred and lacked correlation in direction and time.