Jg. Burch et al., A 2-MONTH STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF ORAL IRRIGATION AND AUTOMATIC TOOTHBRUSH USE IN AN ADULT ORTHODONTIC POPULATION WITH FIXED APPLIANCES, American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, 106(2), 1994, pp. 121-126
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.