A comparative single-use clinical study of the efficacy of two manual toothbrushes with angled bristles.

PURPOSE: To compare the safety and plaque removal efficacy of two angled-bristled toothbrushes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The brushes were compared using a single-use, cross-over designed study, where healthy subjects from a normal population brushed their teeth with their assigned toothbrush for a timed 60 seconds. Pre- and post-brushing plaque levels were evaluated after disclosing, using the Proximal/Marginal Plaque Index. At the first visit, 100 subjects with a plaque index of > or = 2.20 after 23-25 hours of no oral hygiene were enrolled in the study. At the end of the study, data from 91 subjects were suitable for analysis. The two treatment sequence groups, X-Aktiv/CrossAction and CrossAction/X-Aktiv, were balanced for age and gender and, at each visit, pre-brushing plaque scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. Data from the two visits were pooled, after which plaque removal efficacies were compared.

RESULTS: Both toothbrushes were found to be safe and both significantly reduced plaque levels (P< or = 0.0001), but the CrossAction was significantly more effective than the X-Aktiv for whole mouth and marginal sites, as well as the difficult-to-access approximal areas (P< or = 0.0008). For the whole mouth, the CrossAction was 11.8% more effective; for marginal sites the difference was 12.6%, and for approximal sites the difference was 11.4%. It is concluded that the Oral-B CrossAction toothbrush is significantly more effective with respect to plaque removal than the Dr. Best X-Aktiv.