Gingival health of a periodontal maintenance population after the use of Sonicare Elite or a manual toothbrush over a 12-week period

Objective

To assess the gingival health status of a periodontal maintenance population using either Sonicare Elite or a manual toothbrush over a 12-week period

Methodology

Forty-two periodontal maintenance patients were enrolled in this randomized, controlled, single-blind crossover study. Participants were assigned to either a manual toothbrush or Sonicare Elite and used each toothbrush for a period of 12 weeks. Patients returned to their regular oral hygiene regimen for a period of two weeks before brushing with the second assigned product for another twelve weeks. Prior to entering each of the study periods, participants received a professional polish and brushing instructions. At baseline, eight weeks, and after 12 weeks, measurements were taken for the Gingival Index (GI, Silness & Löe 1963, six surfaces per tooth) and the Gingival Crevicular Fluid Flow Rate (GCFFR, Periotron 6000).

There was no significant difference for the GI between groups at baseline.The mean reduction of the GI after eight weeks was 0.44 for the manual brush and 0.85 for the Sonicare Elite.The respective values after 12 weeks were 0.52 and 1.07. The differences between products were statistically significant in favor of Sonicare Elite after eight weeks (0.41; p<0.002) and after 12 weeks (0.55; p<0.001) of product use. GCFFR values did not change significantly over the treatment period and between toothbrushes.

Conclusion

Sonicare Elite was significantly more effective than a manual toothbrush at reducing gingivitis in a periodontal maintenance population after 8 and 12 weeks of toothbrush use.