Ga. Vanderweijden et al., EFFECT OF PREEXPERIMENTAL MAINTENANCE CARE DURATION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF GINGIVITIS IN A PARTIAL MOUTH EXPERIMENTAL GINGIVITIS MODEL, Journal of Periodontal Research, 29(3), 1994, pp. 168-173
The present study was designed to evaluate if different periods of sup
ervised oral hygiene prior to the experimental gingivitis trial have a
n effect on the amount of inflammation which develops in the 'toothshi
eld' model. Two groups were compared. One group (Group A) was supervis
ed over a 5-month period before experimental gingivitis. Six months la
ter Group A participated in a second trial, this time receiving only a
1-month pretrial. A second group (Group B) which served as a control
was supervised over a pre-trial period of 1-month prior to the start o
f the experimental gingivitis phase. During the pre-trial period all s
ubjects undertook a regime of vigorous oral hygiene which included pol
ishing of the test quadrant in the upper jaw and supervised subgingiva
l brushing, interdental taping or the use of toothpicks. The presence
of plaque and bleeding were assessed. Following the pre-trial period a
ll plaque control measures in the experimental area were prevented dur
ing oral hygiene periods by the temporary placement of soft, loosely f
itting vinyl toothshield guard. During this period they accumulated pl
aque rapidly and developed a generalized gingivitis. The results of th
is study indicate that, irrespective of the length of the pretrial per
iod, subjects by group develop a comparable mean level of plaque and g
ingival bleeding. However, the extent to which gingivitis develops dif
fers among individuals and was for a number of subjects not consistent
. Therefore, in designing an experimental gingivitis trial care should
be taken to include a sufficient number of subjects to account for in
dividual variation.