Evaluating wear patterns and severity of powered and manual toothbrushes

Objective: To evaluate the severity and consistency of toothbrush wear by subjects using either a powered or a manual toothbrush over four, 3-month periods.

Methods: 60 subjects were randomised to use either a Sonicare Elite (powered) or an Oral-B Advantage (manual) toothbrush for 3-month periods over 12 months. Subjects were supplied with standardised brushing instructions and a standardised dentifrice (Colgate Total). The manual brushes and powered brush heads were collected and replaced at the end of each three-month period. Standardised digital photographs were recorded of the brush heads. A visual wear rating (WR) was determined and brush wear index (WI) was calculated from measurements using ImageJ 1.38 software (Rawls et al 1989).

Results: 53 subjects returned their brush at the final visit at month 12: 205 brushes were collected for analysis over the course of the study. Mean(sd) WR was 1.47(1.12) and 1.44(1.54) for the powered and manual brushes respectively. Mean(sd) WI was 0.26(0.18) and 0.25(0.19) for the powered and manual brushes respectively. Multilevel modelling of the repeated measures within subjects did not detect a statistical difference between brushes for either measurement with estimates of WR: -0.03 (95% CI: -0.57, 0.51 and WI: -0.02 (95% CI: -0.11, 0.08). A significant non-linear relationship was detected between WR and WI.

Conclusion: No difference in the amount of wear, as measured by a visual WR or measured WI, was detected between the Sonicare Elite powered and Oral-B Advantage manual toothbrushes over a 3-month period of use.

Supported by Philips Oral Healthcare, Inc.