Gingival Margin and Subgingival Access Efficacy of Three Novel Toothbrushes

Abstract

Objectives: Efficacy of Gingival Margin Cleaning (GMC) and Subgingival Access Efficacy (SAE) have shown significant differences between toothbrush designs. This laboratory study compared a bi-level toothbrush, the GUM Summit+ Compact™ Soft (Sunstar Americas, Inc., Chicago, IL) to the Oral-B CrossAction® 40 Soft and Advantage Plus 40® Soft (Oral-B, Cincinnati, OH) for ability to remove artificial plaque at the gingival margin (GMC assay) and subgingivally (SAE assay).

Material and Methods: Subgingival access (maximum depth of plaque removed under the gingival margin) and gingival margin cleaning (maximum length of artificial plaque removed at the gingival margin) were determined by using simulated gingiva prepared with a 0.2 mm space between the gingiva and tooth. Results were recorded on plaque-covered pressure-sensitive substrate. Readings were performed with 3x magnification by one investigator. Six toothbrushes were tested four times for a total of twenty-four tests on each product. All brushes were aligned with the gingival papillae placed over simulated posterior teeth in a horizontal brushing motion, a brushing weight of 500g for 30 seconds at two strokes per second with a 15-mm stroke. Data was analyzed using the t-test for significant differences.

Results: Results on the toothbrushes tested are shown in the Table.

Product GMC SAE

Mean (SD) mm

Summit 10.2 (0.5) 4.1 (0.4)

CrossAction 6.5 (2.6) 2.0 (0.4)

Advantage Plus 8.7 (1.6) 2.9 (0.6)

The Summit product has significantly (p<0.001) higher GMC and SAE mean values than the Oral-B CrossAction and Advantage Plus toothbrushes. The Advantage Plus toothbrush has a significantly (p< 0.001) higher mean GMC and SAE value than the CrossAction.

Conclusion: In this study the GUM Summit+Compact toothbrush was statistically significantly more effective for cleaning at the gingival margin and subgingivally than the Oral-B CrossAction® 40 and the Oral B Advantage Plus 40®. Supported by a grant from Sunstar Americas Inc.