A 2-MONTH STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF ORAL IRRIGATION AND AUTOMATIC TOOTHBRUSH USE IN AN ADULT ORTHODONTIC POPULATION WITH FIXED APPLIANCES

Forty-seven adult orthodontic patients with fixed orthodontic applianc es were divided into three study groups: (1) oral irrigation with auto matic toothbrush, (n = 16); (2) oral irrigation with manual toothbrush ing, (n = 16); (3) control group with continued normal toothbrushing o nly, (n = 15). Gingival and plaque indices, bleeding after probing, an d gingival sulcus depths were assessed at baseline, 1-month, and 2-mon th periods. Marked and significant gingival and plaque improvements fr om baseline were measured in all three study groups. After 1 to 2 mont hs use of the automatic toothbrush and/or the oral irrigation device, there was a significant reduction in plaque when compared with the con trol group who used only the manual toothbrush (p = 0.026). Also, ther e was a significant reduction in gingival inflammation (p = 0.045) and evidence for reduced bleeding after probing (p = 0.037). No significa nt differences were found in probe depths among the three study groups , however, use of both devices reduced the pocket depth significantly from baseline by 0.5 mm (p < 0.0002). For this population of orthodont ic patients, significant reductions in plaque, gingival inflammation, and a tendency for reduced bleeding after probing occurred in both gro ups with the power device. These improvements were most attributable t o the effect of the oral irrigation device.