Evaluation of two soft manual toothbrushes with different filament designs in relation to gingival abrasion and plaque removing efficacy

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of two soft manual toothbrushes with different filament and brush head designs in relation to gingival abrasion and plaque removing efficacy to the in relation flat trimmed manual reference toothbrush of the American Dental Association (ADA).

Methods: The study had a randomized single use cross-over model (n = 76) with three sessions whereby all brushes were used by each subject. Subjects were asked to abstain from all oral hygiene procedures for 48 h. They brushed according to split-mouth design. Pre- and post-brushing plaque and gingival abrasion were assessed.

Results: The Sensodyne® Sensitive (SENS) was more abrasive than the ADA (P < 0.001) while the Oral-B® Sensitive Advantage® (OBSA) was less abrasive than the SENS (P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between the OBSA and the ADA (P = 0.319). All three brushes showed statistically significant reductions (49-56%) in plaque versus baseline. Compared to the ADA and the SENS, the OBSA had a smaller percentage of plaque removal (56% versus 49%, P ≤ 0.001; and 50% versus 52%, P = 0.028).

Conclusions: The present study which compared two soft toothbrushes showed that the OBSA caused less gingival abrasion compared to the SENS-brush with a marginal loss (2%) of efficacy.